<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Male school bullies in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/singapore" rel="" target="_blank" title="Singapore"><span>Singapore</span></a><span> could face corporal punishment as a "last resort" to stamp out bad behaviour under approved new education guidelines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Caning will be meted out at Singaporean schools as an </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bullying" rel="" target="_blank" title="anti-bullying"><span>anti-bullying</span></a><span> disciplinary measure for boys only when "all other measures are inadequate", the country's Ministry for Education said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The punishment will only be delivered to boys. Female students will be exempt in line with Singapore's Criminal Procedure Code, which states "women shall not be punished with caning".</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/identity-theft-great-southern-bank/5923e717-9bae-4eea-a0ef-88641d20633d" rel="" target="_blank" title="Anna had no idea her identity had been stolen. Then the letters arrived"><strong><span>Anna had no idea her identity had been stolen. Then the letters arrived</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under the rules, students could face between one and three strokes of a cane.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Caning must be approved by the principal and administered only by authorised teachers," Singapore's Minister for Education Desmond Lee said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/singapore-caning-in-school-male-bullies-to-face-corporal-punishment/99bff1d9-b419-4037-8b7a-a9b4763a2df4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If it is used, it is never administered in isolation but always as part of a suite of restorative and disciplinary measures."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Schools will then monitor the student's well-being and will provide post-caning counselling, Lee added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Caning in Singapore was introduced when it was under British colonial rule.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the United Kingdom abolished corporal punishment, Singapore did not.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Singapore's government states that corporal punishment of children should only be doled out as a "last resort" and is subject to "stringent safeguards, after counselling and alternative disciplinary methods have repeatedly failed".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-woman-marion-barter-million-dollar-reward-for-nsw-cold-case/5b242574-36c1-4435-96a9-cb09e76eec0e" target="_blank" title="'She didn't abandon her family': $1m reward in baffling case of missing teacher"><strong><span>'She didn't abandon her family': $1m reward in baffling case of missing teacher</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A range of offences in Singapore can carry a punishment known as judicial caning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Human rights groups, including the United Nations, have long criticised the Singaporian government for not outlawing corporal punishment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The UN described caning as "a deeply degrading punishment that harmed the child's dignity" and that Singapore had been "asked, on several occasions and by a number of United Nations bodies, to repeal this practice".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Australia, corporal punishment is prohibited in all early childhood education, schools and care environments.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>