ON Thursday, many citizens were aghast after reviewing the gruesome incident at a Linden school, where a school girl was stabbed by her classmate.

The 15-year-old, up to press, was said to be in a stable condition and was recovering from the wound she sustained when her attacker stabbed her with a knife. The incident, as this newspaper reported, was video-recorded and went viral on social media. It showed another student approaching the girl from behind and plunging a long knife in her back, in the presence of students and adults. According to the police, the victim was stabbed by the sister of the other girl who was involved in the fight. The video showed the girl standing and watching on. She then took out a knife from her bag and stabbed the victim to the left side of her lower back.

The fight took place in proximity to the school in Amelia’s Ward. The victim was rushed to the hospital, in a taxi, by public-spirited persons, after blood was ‘gushing out’ of her back, with the ‘Rambo knife’ still stuck in the wound. This incident followed another violent one at another school in Linden, which occurred on Wednesday, when a student was chopped. A few weeks ago, another student from the same secondary school stabbed a classmate and was arrested.

These incidents, along with the attacks on teachers by parents, present a worrying sign, especially for our school system. Government no doubt would have to beef up security around the schools and this does not only include the presence of security guards, but periodic random searches of the bags of students. Thursday’s incident in Linden also brings into focus, again, the issue of bullying in schools. It is no secret that bullying in schools has not been tackled frontally by parents, teachers and the Ministry of Education. We have seen countless videos on social media of physical fights between students with their fellow classmates cheering them on.

School bullying has probably been around since the 18th century. It is a negative human condition that has evolved along with the mind and psyche. Bullying started with children ‘picking’ on each other or parents believing that they are teaching their kids “discipline” by beating them. Adults used to believe that kids fought only to be “best friends in the end.” Bullying also resulted from conforming to prejudiced social norms like gender stereotyping of men and women. The idea of “boys will be boys” and “girls are catty” has given way to accepting unacceptable negative social behaviour. However, with awareness and strategies, bullying in school can be controlled.

According to a report in one of the daily newspapers, in May of 2012, a call was made by lecturer attached to the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus, Maureen Bynoe, for the Ministry of Education to adapt a national anti-bullying strategy to target students of all ages.  The report stated that Bynoe’s proposal was premised on a survey she conducted, aimed at assessing the extent bullying has infiltrated schools along Central Corentyne, Berbice. The study discovered that ethnicity was a major factor that contributed to bullying in the school system.

Aside from the reasons as to why students bully each other, the study, according to Bynoe, focused on the forms of bullying, the consequences of bullying on the victim, what strategies have been effective in dealing with bullying and whether there was a significant difference in the form of bullying due to gender.

While this lecturer’s study focused on schools in Berbice, we believe a similar study needs to be conducted by the Ministry of Education, focusing on schools across the country with major involvement from students, parents and teachers. With this study, we will know the core issue that leads to bullying and from there an action plan can be drafted and implemented. The bullies will be identified and get the necessary help. Parents and teachers need to work together as they play an integral role in preventing bullying. Teachers especially need to pay more attention to students’ behaviour.

For a start, we urge that a national anti-bullying awareness campaign be launched across schools. There should be the implementation of firm school-wide rules with severe punishment for bullying. Further, there should be anti-bullying messages and information in school-related publications, newspapers and signboards and also schools should implement Systems of rewards for the kindest and most creative learners. The time to act is now. We need to protect our children.