Recently, the whole country was startled to find out the information on bullying and sexual harassment that has been happening in our educational institutional – in the name of period spot checks. Is it indispensable?

As far as I am concerned, there are no guidelines allowing teachers to do this. So why have these sport checks been happening? And what shocking us is, to date, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has not issued any statement on this.

One Senior Minister with two Deputies, all males, seem insensitive and could not be bothered by this horrific incident. Even the Penang Mufti has spoken out, condemning the action. So, what is MOE stand on this? When will the Ministers and his deputies finally find their voice to look after our students, especially female students? Their silence is deafening. Is it because they are indifferent?

INSTILLING VALUES, WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

School should be a safe place to educate children academically and instill values and show them about love and humanity. But we are humiliating our kids because we cannot trust them right in the school compounds, the irony. Our children need guidance and leadership, not constantly second-guessed by us. They need us to make them feel safe and, most importantly, for them to be able to speak to us without being judged.

This will cause them to conclude that there is nothing out there for them and that the most important people in their lives cannot be trusted. How can these kids trust us when the adults violate the boundaries? Answer this question, how would you feel when people question you and reach out to check your private parts to be sure?

Guidance and leadership do not mean engaging in power struggles to prove our rightness and put down their arguments. It does not mean humiliating and crossing the lines—making them feel miserable and ashamed. Our intentions are well-placed, but the methods we use are misguided and wrong. We are sending our children in the direction we most fear-floundering in a world of unpredictability where they turn to their peers for guidance and leadership. And we know they will be like the blind leading the blind.

Honestly, we must start to practice trusting our children. This can be done by simply listening and believing what they are trying to tell us. There are many other ways to instill awareness on the obligations of praying and fasting other than checking their private part looking for the sanitary pad.

Teo Nie Ching,

Member of Parliament for Kulai