Fadhlina said the ministry is committed to ensuring schools are the safest place for students, second only to their own homes.

“You touch, you go,” she said in a speech at a national convention on protection of students against sexual exploitation here.

Fadhlina said the ministry took issues of sexual harassment seriously as they could ruin a student’s future, adding that she herself had met such victims from religious schools.

“When I asked why they (the students) didn’t report the harassment, they said the religious teacher told them that if they told others, they would not be blessed.

“They were told to protect the honour of their teachers,” she said.

The minister also said she had handled sexual harassment cases involving 20 children in Sarawak as an activist eight years ago.

She said the ministry was facing an uphill challenge dealing with such cases, stressing the need to protect not only girls but also boys against sexual predators.

As a commitment to the cause, she said the ministry had launched a “safe school programme”, which included creating an environment free from sexual harassment through the introduction of specific guidelines.

“This also includes sports activities that we conduct in collaboration with the youth and sports ministry so that students feel safe,” she said.

Fadhlina said the education ministry would increase the number of counselling teachers in each school to deal with cases of sexual harassment.

“This includes counselling to protect students with special needs,” she said.