Complaints platform for bullying
Pupils, parents will be able to report incidents so they can be dealt with immediately at schools
With one in three students bullied at school, one in two verbally and some isolated from the entire class, the Education Ministry has drafted a bill exhorting victims and their families to speak up.
The basic idea is disclosure and the recording of each incident and to provide a framework for interventions by teachers, psychologists and sociologists.
“It is not bureaucratic, as is usually the case. It requires good organization and the will of those involved to serve their difficult and sensitive role in a crucial way,” a senior Education Ministry official told Kathimerini.
The main aim of the proposed measures is to address the problem within the school community, without a punitive approach to children who themselves become perpetrators after having been victims.
To this end, the core of the relevant bill, the basic provisions of which Kathimerini has seen, is the creation of a platform for reporting incidents of school violence.
On this platform, students will be able to report incidents, anonymously or not. Parents must give their names when doing so.
It will be necessary to log in with Panhellenic School Network codes (for students) or Taxis (for parents). This will enable more bullying victims to speak up and be supported. The platform will be developed by the Diophantus Institute of Computer Technology and Publishing in cooperation with the Central Expert Committee of the Education Ministry.
Recipients of the reports will be the school violence and bullying officers at each school. The role will be assumed by the head teachers of the school together with a teacher appointed by them.
For each incident, the two school leaders will be in direct contact with a four-member task force that will produce annual reports together with their recommendations, and submit them to the regional director of education, who will in turn report regularly to the Ministry of Education with a view of formulating future data-based policy to combat school violence.
An expert committee will be established at a central level to oversee and monitor the program, and draw conclusions. It will be responsible for the development of specific protocols for the prevention and management of school violence and bullying.
