[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – In the past five years, institutes of higher education handled a total of 172 cases of sexual misconduct by students and staff.
The Minister of State for Education, Sun Xueling, released this figure in Parliament on Tuesday (November 3), highlighting her ministry’s zero-tolerance policy towards these cases at Singapore’s six autonomous universities, five polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
Faculty and students are expected to adhere to professional codes of conduct in their interactions, he said.
“So when there is a violation of those codes of conduct, the punishments are swift,” Ms. Sun said in response to Mr. Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten), adding that both students and staff can be suspended or fired. from the school for their actions.
The number of 172 cases of sexual misconduct between 2015 and 2019 translates into an incidence rate of 0.12 per 1,000 employees and students, it said.
Ms. Sun’s response follows the recent incident involving Dr. Jeremy Fernando, a former professor and fellow at the Tembusu College of the National University of Singapore (NUS) who was fired for having an intimate relationship with a university student, a violation of the NUS code of conduct for personnel.
The student, along with another student, also alleged that Dr. Fernando made non-consensual advances toward them. NUS has filed a police report.
Ms. Carrie Tan (Nee Soon GRC) asked if the Ministry of Education plans to hire relevant experts to provide training and sensitization to staff on how to handle sexual assault cases, given that children are exposed to sexual material and content at a much younger age through digital media.
To this, Ms. Sun said that NUS has established a victim assistance unit to handle sexual assault cases, and there are similar units in other autonomous universities.
On top of that, schools also provide sexuality education that is geared toward different age groups, and teachers provide specific settings in high schools for students to learn how they can protect themselves. Sex ed teachers also receive specialized training, he said.
Workers’ Party deputy He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) asked if investigations into allegations of sexual violence and sexual misconduct can be carried out independently, by parties outside the universities or institutions where the have reported such cases.
In response, Ms. Sun said that the police carry out independent investigations when there are concerns about serious crimes that may have occurred, after a police report has been made.
Otherwise, in higher education institutes, a disciplinary board would be convened to investigate the crime. Students are included on the board to provide perspectives on the topic.
“Investigations are being conducted through campus security and the issue is taken very seriously by senior management,” he added.
[ad_2]
