Toilet toil

Some teachers could not help but physically punish unruly students and then get flak from authorities because traditional disciplining is no longer allowed under current regulations.

A male teacher of Burabod Elementary School in Burauen, Leyte was in hot water for making several male students squat in front of a classroom, reportedly as punishment for bullying their female classmate.

One student secretly recorded the scene, including the teacher hitting the squatting students' extended arms with a "walis ting-ting." The video was then posted on social media, and it went viral, catching the attention of authorities.

The Department of Education Eastern Visayas office has investigated the incident with the teacher expected to be sanctioned for punishing his students.

In Malaysia, two teen classmates were recently punished for destroying public property in August 2022. The 16-year-olds were tried in court due to the severity of their mischief and pleaded guilty to the charges on 25 October.

Under Malaysia's penal code, the two juveniles faced a sentence of up to 20 years and a fine because their supposed prank caused the death of another student. But for their good behavior, prosecutors recommended a lighter punishment.

The court required them to attend a workshop of the Social Welfare Department, report to the nearest police station once a month, and strictly observe an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

For setting fire to the public toilet of a futsal court in Bandar Puncak Alam, Kuala Selangor city last year, the court also sentenced them to community service, specifically washing toilets for 100 hours over six months, The Star reported.