Singapore says teachers can cane students as young as 9 in new anti-bullying strategy

By Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Singapore’s education minister has confirmed that teachers are allowed to use caning to discipline unruly students in certain cases.

“Our schools use caning as a disciplinary measure if all the other measures are inadequate, given the gravity of the misconduct,” Desmond Lee said in parliament on Tuesday in response to questions about new anti-bullying measures announced on April 15 – including one asking about the mental health impact of caning children as young as 9 years old.

“They follow strict protocols to ensure safety for the student. For instance, caning must be approved by the principal and administered only by authorised teachers,” he told lawmakers, with the new framework to be rolled out across Singaporean schools from 2027.

“Schools will consider factors such as the maturity of the student and if caning will help the student learn from his mistake and understand the gravity of what he has done,” said Lee.

“Schools exercise discretion on whether to use caning as a disciplinary consequence after assessing the circumstances of the offense committed,” he added.

“This approach is based on research which shows that children and youth learn to make better choices when there are clear boundaries enforced by firm, meaningful consequences,” said Lee, claiming that it helps to reduce bullying.

The guidelines, which are set out on the Ministry of Education website, specify that only male students can be punished with the cane.

“Caning is a disciplinary option for boys only, and for serious offences as a last resort, when absolutely necessary,” it says.

Corporal punishment in schools has become increasingly rare in many parts of the world in recent decades.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that between a quarter and half of children around the world experience corporal punishment in schools, and called for an end to the practice.

“The consequences of child corporal punishment can last a lifetime and undermine physical and mental health, education, and social and occupational functioning,” WHO said in a report published August 2025.

“There is now overwhelming scientific evidence that child corporal punishment carries multiple risks of harm and has no benefits for children, parents, or societies,” it added.

Singapore, a small, highly developed and wealthy financial hub in Southeast Asia, is well known for its strict laws.

At the end of April, a French teenager was charged with two offenses that could land him in jail for up to two years after he allegedly licked a straw in an orange juice vending machine – and then placed it back in the dispenser.

It’s not the first time a foreign teenager has fallen foul of Singapore’s strict laws.

One of the most high-profile cases was in 1993, when American Michael Fay was arrested for possession of stolen items and vandalizing several cars by spray painting them.

Fay, who was 18 at the time, was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane, which was reduced to four strokes after the case caused an international furor and intervention from then-US President Bill Clinton.

Singapore carried out the caning despite strong pressure from Washington, maintaining that it was important to uphold its own laws, even for foreign nationals – briefly straining the US-Singapore relationship.

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CNN’s Jessie Yeung and Satish Cheney contributed to this report.