MOE to share recommendations from its review on bullying in schools in Q2 2026

SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Education (MOE) is on track to release in the second quarter of 2026 recommendations from

its review on bullying

, after having engaged more than 2,000 parents, students, educators and other members of the public on the issue.

Minister for Education Desmond Lee in an interview with the media on Jan 26 gave this update, alongside other ongoing work his ministry is doing to deepen the holistic development, resilience and adaptability of Singapore’s students.

The issue of bullying sparked national conversations in 2025 after several bullying incidents surfaced online, including one case when three Primary 3 pupils sent death threats to a classmate’s mother.

The three pupils were suspended

, and one of them was caned.

MOE’s review to better address bullying in schools began in early 2025, and covers four areas: strengthening school culture and processes; focusing more on values education for students; supporting educators; and improving schools’ partnerships with parents.

Mr Lee said the engagement sessions, which took place both face-to-face and online, raised many ideas. These include having schools enhance values education through the use of more real-life scenarios, and role-playing to encourage students to build respect and conflict resolution skills.

Some also suggested that schools be better resourced to do fact-finding and include restorative practices in resolving cases, so that teachers can focus on teaching, while using these incidents to help students to learn through discipline and follow-up.

One suggestion that was common across the engagement sessions is the importance of supporting parents, so that they can guide their children in their interactions outside of school, said Mr Lee.

“We are very appreciative of all the ideas, views, examples, experiences that have been shared, (including) some painful experiences that they and their children and themselves faced,” he said.

MOE is also working on an AI In Education strategy with the institutes of higher learning and special education schools, so that students are better prepared for a world that is both empowered and disrupted by artificial intelligence (AI).

Mr Lee said more details will be shared during the debate on the ministry’s budget, and that the framework will be announced later in 2026.

Acknowledging concerns of students relying on AI for answers, Mr Lee said the strategy broadly involves teaching students what is AI, how to use it, how to learn using AI tools and to learn beyond AI.

This means there will be assignments aimed at testing students’ abilities to use AI and to build on them, while others will expressly be meant to be completed without AI assistance.

“It’s equally an emphasis on ethics in education, knowing that... if you breach the trust, not only will there be consequences, but there’ll be consequences (in) future in life, when you realise you’ve not learnt deeply,” he said.

MOE is also undertaking a comprehensive review of its Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum to help students better navigate the impact of AI and to understand the changing global environment.

In a world where AI “plays a bigger role, maybe in morally fraught decisions”, CCE can help students in their socio-emotional development and in staying centred, said Mr Lee.

A rapidly changing geopolitical environment means Singapore’s place in the world will also change, he added, and in this regard CCE needs to be reviewed to teach students from an early age how to navigate disagreements, differing viewpoints and attempts by others to persuade them.

“CCE is another important way in which we arm, equip and enable our students to be able to navigate an AI-disrupted and AI-enabled world,” said Mr Lee.

MOE said it regularly reviews its curriculum, including for CCE, to ensure it stays responsive to societal shifts and student needs.