Rewarding 'zero bullying' schools is 'unrealistic,' experts warn

SHAH ALAM – Education experts have cautioned that the initiative by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to reward schools with "zero bullying" cases is unrealistic and could backfire, stressing that incentives should instead go to schools that demonstrate best practices in tackling the issue.

The minister’s recent announcement came amid a rise in bullying cases, including the death of Form 1 student Zara Qairina Mahathir.

Speaking to Sinar Daily, education expert Dr Anuar Ahmad said the idea of rewarding schools for having no bullying cases may lead to under-reporting and denial, rather than meaningful solutions.

"The incentive is actually not relevant because in our practice of tackling bullying, we don’t give incentives to schools with zero bullying.

"What should be done is giving rewards, recognition, or appreciation to schools that show best practices in reducing bullying," he said.

He clarified that bullying can occur in different forms across all types of schools and is rarely absent altogether.

"We need to accept that bullying can happen in many environments. Different schools face different types of bullying.

"To say that bullying can be zero is difficult. Recognition should be given to schools that show best practices in reducing bullying, not those that deny or claim it doesn’t exist," he added.

Anuar said incentives should be targeted at those who take active steps to reduce bullying.

"If there are bullying cases, then the way the school successfully reduces or resolves them, or the actions that effectively minimise bullying, should be the reason they are given incentives.

"Teachers who report bullying cases should also be rewarded for their courage, as well as those who successfully resolve cases," he said.

According to him, the most effective incentive is one that motivates schools to create safer environments where students enjoy learning.

“The right type of incentive is recognising best practices in solving bullying issues. That’s how schools become safer and students feel happy and excited to go to school,” he said.

Anuar emphasised that bullying is rarely an isolated behaviour but is often linked to broader family and peer dynamics.

He described that children who come from difficult home environments are more vulnerable and schools need to recognise these underlying issues when addressing bullying.

He also stressed that bullying behaviour develops over time and does not happen overnight.

"They usually belong to certain groups, break school rules and perform poorly academically. These are warning signs. Schools must identify and monitor these groups early," he said.

Echoing similar concerns, Parent Action Group for Education (Page) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said rewarding "zero bullying" schools is not practical.

"Bullying exists in every school to some degree. Declaring ‘zero cases’ as a reward condition risks encouraging cover-ups and under-reporting.

Instead of rewarding the absence of reports, recognition should focus on how effectively schools prevent, detect and address bullying,” she said.

While incentives for teachers and wardens to take bullying more seriously could be beneficial, Azimah warned that a numbers-driven approach could distort outcomes.

“If incentives are purely based on the number of cases, staff may over-report, mislabel normal conflicts as bullying, or unfairly target students just to appear proactive.

"The solution is not to reward more cases but to reward the quality of response, how well teachers resolve conflicts, support victims and rehabilitate aggressors,” she said.

She added that while incentives can help nudge behaviour, sustainable change requires deeper reforms.

“Strong policies with teeth are needed, with clear rules, consistent enforcement and legal protection for both victims and educators.

"We must also embed empathy, conflict resolution and digital citizenship into the curriculum from primary school,” she said.

Other key measures, she said, include psychological support for both bullies and victims, stronger parental engagement, safe reporting channels such as anonymous hotlines and data-driven monitoring to ensure accountability.