A SCHOOL should be the safest place for children, and this responsibility lies not only on the school administration, but on the entire community including parents and government agencies, said Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
“For me, I think schools are the safest places for children now. They should be. If schools are no longer a safe place, what will happen to our community? So all parties need to do their duty,” she said in Kuala Lumpur.
She was commenting on a recent incident where a Form Three female student at a secondary school was raped in turn by two senior students.
The incident reportedly took place at a school in Melaka, and what is even more worrying is that the act was recorded and seen by two other students using their mobile phones in a classroom in Alor Gajah at around 2.50pm last week.
Nancy said her ministry had sent an officer to meet the victim's family at the hospital to obtain further information about the incident.
Her ministry also sent a counselor to provide counseling to the victim and her family.
"If the family needs it, we can help, especially if they are traumatized because they never thought something like this could happen to their child," she said.
Meanwhile, Nancy admitted that concerns over student safety are now increasingly felt by many parents and guardians.
“Actually, I’m scared too. I don’t have any children in school, but all my grandchildren are still in school,” she said.
Nancy explained that her ministry, through various agencies, is always trying to carry out family-based and parenting programs to raise awareness about safety and social responsibility.
“We have agencies to carry out programs like parenting. But usually when it comes to parenting, the people we want to target don’t come. That’s why we’re trying,” she said.
She stressed the importance of community and parent involvement in the program to ensure the safety message reaches those who really need guidance and support.
Her ministry will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of existing initiatives and strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Education and security agencies to ensure the safety of students in schools nationwide. – October 12, 2025
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