The Position Of Pupils As Children And The Responsibility Of Teachers In A Legal Context

Abstract

The Education Act 1996 (Malaysia) (Malay: Akta Pendidikan 1996) uses the term “pupil” to describe a person who receives education or training in an educational institution in Malaysia. In this context, a pupil is a general term that can be used for anyone regardless of age. However, among pupils in educational institutions, there are categories of pupils that requires more consideration and attention by educational institutions. Among those categories are children as pupils. This being said, there are specific policies and laws, that provide additional protection and assistance to children. Therefore, an understanding of the law relating to children as pupils is of utmost importance,, so that any action taken is in line with existing laws. This paper aims to explain the definition of a child according to Malaysian law. In addition, this paper further explains the important principles that revolve around children, that needs to be the main consideration of educational institutions in handling matters involving children. In order to achieve the outlined objectives, this paper uses a qualitative method with a purely legalistic approach, by focusing on content analysis techniques. Thus, this paper indicates that a child is someone under the age of 18 according to the Child Act 2001, which is in line with the Convention on Children at the international level. This paper also specifies that educational institutions have an obligation to ensure that the welfare of children as pupils is always preserved. For this purpose, any actions or decisions made by educational institutions, including educators, must be in the best interests of children as pupils. Therefore, this paper suggests that knowledge about child laws should be given to educational institutions, especially teachers who are directly involved in handling pupils who have the status of children.