X
TAP top app download banner
theAsianparent Singapore Logo
theAsianparent Singapore Logo
Product Guide
Sign in
  • Together Against RSV
  • Pregnancy
    • Due date calculator
    • I'm pregnant
    • Trying To Conceive
    • Labour
    • After birth
    • Baby loss
  • Parenting
    • Parent's Guide
    • Relationship & Sex
  • Child
    • Newborn
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Pre-Schooler
    • Kid
    • Pre-Teen & Teen
  • Feeding & Nutrition
    • Diseases-Injuries
    • Breastfeeding & Formula
    • Meal Planner
    • Health
    • Allergies & Conditions
    • Vaccinations
  • Education
    • Pre-School
    • Primary School
    • Secondary School
    • Primary School Directory
  • Lifestyle
    • Money
    • Travel & Leisure
    • Fashion
    • Home
    • Fitness
    • Contests & promotions
  • Events
  • Holiday Hub
  • Aptamil
    • Immunity
    • Intelligence
  • TAP Recommends
  • Shopping
  • Press Releases
  • Project Sidekicks
  • Community
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • VIP

Mum makes police report over school’s haircut punishment

3 min read
Mum makes police report over school’s haircut punishment

Enforcing discipline is part of a teacher’s duty but did this one go too far? A mother lodged a police report against a teacher who cut her son’s hair before his PSLE exam without parental consent. Find out how this unorthodox action is raising hackles between parents and teachers.

Mum makes police report over schools haircut punishment

The student before his haircut (Photo source: Youtube)

A mother has filed a police report after her 12-year-old son’s teacher cut his hair an hour before his PSLE oral exam. The boy’s mother, Madam Serene Ong, is infuriated that the teacher did this just before an important exam, and that it was done without her knowledge and permission — and that it ruined the boy’s $60 haircut.

Madam Ong claimed the teacher, Ms Belinda Cheng of Unity Primary School, threatened to deduct marks from the boy’s exam results if he refused to have his hair cut.

RELATED: Singapore mum enraged that school cut son’s hair

Prior warning given 

Mum makes police report over schools haircut punishment

After the haircut (Photo source: Youtube)

The school’s principal, Jasmail Singh Gill, said all Primary 6 students had already been warned to have their hair cut. It was reported that reminder letters were also sent out to parents two days before the exam commenced, for students to “look neat”. However, the school’s principal, Mrs Jasmail Singh Gill, has sided with Madam Ong, and reportedly said that the teacher had no business cutting the boy’s hair.

Splitting hairs over teacher’s action

The disciplinary action carried out by Ms. Cheng has divided opinion between parents and educators — who ask whether a teacher has any right to cut a student’s untidy hair. Debate has been sparked online, with some parents condemning the severity of the teacher’s actions, while others offered their views on how they would have handled the situation:

Madam Lim, a mother of two, said, “It’s not up to the teacher to cut my child’s hair,” she said. “I can always take time off to bring my son for a haircut since the school’s regulation is so strict.”

“If it happens to my son, I’ll definitely be angry,” stated Leslie Goh, a 44-year-old optician and father of two children.

Ann Goh, a mother of one child, did not see the punishment as severe, and added that, “I wouldn’t be angry if it was my child, provided the haircut was just a trim and that it was done only after the exams”

One reader wrote to The Straits Times and questioned the mother’s reaction towards her son’s punishment:

“What baffled me was the mother’s remarks that her son dared not step out of the house for two days because the haircut embarrassed his looks. Consequently, she spent another $60 for his hair to be restyled.”

RELATED: Over pampering children

Discipline and punishment — not clear cut issues

Partner Stories
Unlocking Financial Independence for the Next Generation
Unlocking Financial Independence for the Next Generation
21CC and PSLE - “Neither can live while the other survives!”
21CC and PSLE - “Neither can live while the other survives!”
Show Appreciation Anytime: 3 Thoughtful Gift Ideas for Preschool Teachers
Show Appreciation Anytime: 3 Thoughtful Gift Ideas for Preschool Teachers
Little Learners, Big Tech: Digital Literacy Begins at Little Skool-House Preschools
Little Learners, Big Tech: Digital Literacy Begins at Little Skool-House Preschools

The furore over the boy’s impromptu pre-PSLE haircut highlights the murky line between discipline and punishment. A school has the right to enforce discipline and needs the close co-operation of its students’ parents to do so. However, parents are naturally concerned and will object if a school’s punishment deemed to be out of line. Perhaps greater involvement is required from both parents and teachers when it comes to good behaviour in schools today.

Sources: The Straits Times, Yahoo! Singapore

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

img
Written by

Felicia Chin

  • Home
  • /
  • Education
  • /
  • Mum makes police report over school’s haircut punishment
Share:
  • How Parents in Singapore Can Tackle AI Misuse in Schools

    How Parents in Singapore Can Tackle AI Misuse in Schools

  • How TeamSG's Ren Kai Built a 'Sporty Family' That Wins Together

    How TeamSG's Ren Kai Built a 'Sporty Family' That Wins Together

  • This Chemistry Teacher Says the Toughest Formula to Crack is Fatherhood

    This Chemistry Teacher Says the Toughest Formula to Crack is Fatherhood

  • How Parents in Singapore Can Tackle AI Misuse in Schools

    How Parents in Singapore Can Tackle AI Misuse in Schools

  • How TeamSG's Ren Kai Built a 'Sporty Family' That Wins Together

    How TeamSG's Ren Kai Built a 'Sporty Family' That Wins Together

  • This Chemistry Teacher Says the Toughest Formula to Crack is Fatherhood

    This Chemistry Teacher Says the Toughest Formula to Crack is Fatherhood

Get advice on your pregnancy and growing baby. Sign up for our newsletter
  • Pregnancy
  • Family Occasions
  • Lifestyle
  • Normal Delivery
  • Ages & Stages
  • Trying To Conceive
  • News
  • TAP Community
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Become a Contributor


  • Singapore flag Singapore
  • Thailand flag Thailand
  • Indonesia flag Indonesia
  • Philippines flag Philippines
  • Malaysia flag Malaysia
  • Vietnam flag Vietnam
© Copyright theAsianparent 2025. All rights reserved
About Us|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use |Sitemap HTML
  • Tools
  • Articles
  • Feed
  • Poll

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it