Teachers are not disciplinarians — parents must step up: Tabuya

Teachers should not be expected to be the primary disciplinarians of children, as doing so shifts parental responsibility onto educators.

This was highlighted by Minister for Information Lynda Tabuya on Wednesday during the debate on the Education Bill 2025 in Parliament, where she defended the proposed legislation’s explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in all schools.

“We cannot expect our teachers to be the primary disciplinarians of our children. That is not their role. Their role is to teach and educate,” Ms Tabuya said.

“We cannot shift that burden to them to be the disciplinarians as well. This is like shifting your own parental responsibility to the teachers.”

Ms Tabuya challenged those pushing for corporal punishment to be legalised in schools, questioning why children should be treated differently from adults.

“If it is illegal or a crime to hit an adult, then why not a child? Even if it's in a school, why would we allow hitting, allow corporal punishment in schools when it is a crime to hit an adult?” she said.

The Bill introduces mandatory counselling services in schools to support students’ emotional and mental wellbeing. Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, corporal punishment is classified as violence.

Ms Tabuya stressed that children must be treated with dignity and respect at all times, with their best interests remaining the primary consideration in all decisions.

The landmark legislation consolidates three separate education acts into one comprehensive framework, with a mandatory review every five years.