ADDRESSING the growing issue of school violence and bullying, Minister of Education, Sonia Parag, recently said that an upsurge in such incidents in the last year is most likely due to social media influence and use.
As part of its efforts, the ministry has had discussions in the classrooms and has put together a set of policies that it hopes to roll out in the school system, the minister said on Monday.
In June this year, it was reported that the Ministry of Education (MoE) received more than a thousand recommendations from stakeholders countrywide as it moved to develop a comprehensive Anti-Bullying and Anti-Violence Policy for schools.
At the time, Minister Parag said that the most impactful recommendations will inform a policy framework that establishes clear and standardised consequences for bullying, violence and other inappropriate behaviour from both students and educators.
On Monday, the minister answered questions related to interventions being made by the ministry, stating that it is working closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to form a comprehensive set of policies that can be placed in the schools to speak out against violence and bullying.
According to Minister Parag, the Ministry of Education is working closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to form a comprehensive set of policies that can be placed in the schools to speak out against violence and bullying.
Expounding on this, the education minister said, “So, we have formulated a draft, and we need to sit down as a task force and review the draft of those policies. If there is any other input or whether there will be any alterations, then we will be looking at that.”
Parag stated that while they await the completion of the review process, the ministry has implemented moral education in the school system at all levels: nursery, primary and secondary.
“Every school that I have visited, I have asked and they have placed it on their timetable as standalone subjects. So, what we want out of those particular subjects is not just teaching on a blackboard what will be a behavioural pattern or a positive behavioural pattern, but how we can have students emulate through action those positive behavioural patterns,” she expressed.
Additionally, she revealed that they have encouraged all headteachers to raise awareness during their morning assembly. The ministry is also working with students to place anti-bullying and anti-violence posters in strategic areas in their schools.
According to the minister, it is more than putting the posters up. She emphasised that it is about helping students to understand what constitutes bullying, the consequences of bullying, where they can report bullying, and how they can remain anonymous if they want to report bullying.
