Deputy Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today that he agreed with caning as a means to discipline students.

"We know that children normally fear caning, either in school or at home. I agree with caning but there's concern that if all teachers are given the power, there will be excessive caning," he said after his speech and a dialogue at a seminar on happy families in Ipoh.

Abdullah was commenting on a statement by Director-General of Education Abdul Rafie Mahat statement that all teachers would be empowered to discipline students, including caning them,

According to Bernama, the deputy premier said although the power to cane was now confined to school principals and discipline teachers, he left it to the school authorities and parent-teacher associations (PTAs) to decide on caning in class or in public.

He said the problem of indiscipline in schools now could be overcome if early action was taken and he urged the PTAs to play a more active role in the matter.

"I don't think that children turn violent all of a sudden. It must start somewhere, the propensity to fight or bully others. If no action is taken from the start, the child gets worse, turns violent and it becomes a juvenile case," he said.

Counselling important

On parents who lodge police reports or oppose actions taken by teachers against their children, Abdullah said they must understand that the actions were for the good of the students.

Earlier, the deputy premier said that all school teachers should be given training in counselling to tackle indiscipline among students which is getting serious.

He said that having one or two teacher counsellors for more than 1,000 students in each school was not enough in view of the problems that are prevalent now.

"A teacher's role is not only to teach but also to educate. They may have been given such courses but I feel that training in counselling can be further upgraded," he added.

Abdullah also said that parents and members of the public could also attend weekend counselling courses for specific periods like for five or six weeks, adding that he would ask the Women and Family Development Ministry to conduct the courses on a voluntary basis.

He said the task of bringing up children would be made easier and would not be confined to just one party that if parents and others in contact with children were knowledgeable about counselling.