According to Singapore's education minister, teachers are permitted to employ caning as a form of discipline for misbehaving students under specific circumstances.
"Our schools use caning as a disciplinary measure if all the other measures are inadequate, given the gravity of the misconduct," Desmond Lee stated in parliament on Tuesday in response to enquiries concerning the new anti-bullying measures that were announced on April 15, including one concerning the effects of caning children as young as nine years old on their mental health.
They adhere to stringent procedures to guarantee the student's safety. He told MPs, "For example, caning must be approved by the principal and administered only by authorised teachers." The new structure would be implemented in all Singaporean schools starting in 2027.According to Lee, "schools will take into account factors like the student's maturity and whether caning will help the student learn from his mistake and understand the gravity of what he has done."
"After evaluating the circumstances of the offence committed, schools exercise discretion on whether to use caning as a disciplinary consequence," he continued.
According to Lee, "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," which helps to lessen bullying.
According to the instructions, which are available on the Ministry of Education's website, cane punishment is limited to male students.In recent decades, corporal punishment in schools has grown less common in many regions of the world.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged for an end to the practice, estimating that between 25% and 50% of children worldwide are subjected to physical punishment in schools.
According to a WHO research released in August 2025, "the consequences of child corporal punishment can last a lifetime and undermine physical and mental health, education, and social and occupational functioning."
It continued, "There is now overwhelming scientific evidence that child corporal punishment has no benefits for children, parents, or societies and carries multiple risks of harm."
Strict laws are a well-known feature of Singapore, a small, rich, and highly developed financial center in Southeast Asia.A French teenager who allegedly licked a straw in an orange juice vending machine and then put it back in the dispenser was charged with two offences at the end of April that could put him in jail for up to two years.
This is hardly the first instance of a foreign adolescent breaking Singapore's stringent regulations.
The arrest of American Michael Fay in 1993 for possessing stolen goods and spray painting multiple cars was one of the most well-known cases.
Fay, who was eighteen at the time, was given a sentence of four months in prison and six strokes of the cane. However, after the case sparked a global uproar and US President Bill Clinton intervened, the penalty was lowered to four strokes.The US-Singapore relationship was momentarily strained as Singapore carried out the caning in spite of intense pressure from Washington, arguing that it was crucial to respect its own laws, even for foreign nationals.