By Na Jeong-ju
The government announced a set of measures Monday to root out bullying, empowering principals to suspend violent pupils from school and to institute an alert system for organized student gangs.
Other highlights of the package include tougher punishment for teachers covering up cases of bullying and hazing and quicker intervention of police officers to protect victims.
The measures come after a middle school student in Daegu killed himself in December after being brutally bulled by his classmates for months. The suicide caused huge public uproar and educational authorities have been under heavy fire for their poor handling of violence at schools.
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, in announcing the anti-violence package, apologized for the incidents and offered his deep condolences to families of victims.
“School brutality is not just a matter for students, teachers and parents. It’s one of the biggest social concerns that we need to urgently tackle,” Kim said at a news conference. “Through these measures, the government and the police will actively engage in the process of rooting out violence at schools.”
He also vowed to crack down on organized student gangs, called “iljinhoi” in Korean.
“From now on, heads of local police stations will directly take care of such matters. We will also develop a related alert system to make schools safe from organized gangs,” the prime minister added.
President Lee Myung-bak has also pledged that his administration will carry through the latest package of steps to counter school violence. “The package has three key points _ stern punishment of bullies, protection of victims and improvement of educational environment,” Lee said.
The announcement drew mixed evaluations from the public. Some expressed doubts over the effectiveness of the plan, while others said the government’s resolution to prevent bullying at schools will help create a safer and more comfortable learning environment.
Under the measures, the education ministry plans to expand the “Wee Class” program, under which victims of violence can receive counseling from police officers and experts. More police officers will patrol schools to prevent possible cases of bullying, help victims and gather intelligence on student gangs.
The ministry also plans to revise school-related regulations to give principals and teachers greater authority and responsibility in dealing with school violence.
Principals will be able to immediately suspend bullies if necessary. One extra teacher will be assigned to each class at middle and high schools so that at least two teachers can supervise students. The teachers are also obliged to have one-on-one counseling sessions with pupils at least once a semester and reports from them will be sent to the parents.
Penalties for violent behavior will be documented on school records, which will be kept for five years for primary and middle school students, and 10 years for high school students after graduation, the ministry said.
To curb the harmful effects of violent computer games on adolescents, the government will expand the so-called cooling-off system, which automatically disconnects youths from online game sites after two hours.
The ministry will also introduce effective training programs for teachers as well as parents so that they can properly address bullying and protect victims.