Is society failing school bullying?

Staff Writer | Monday October 9, 2023 06:00

Students who are bullied usually have poor academic performance as their interest and participation in school decreases. Bullying has also been named as one of the reasons why some students drop out of schools.

For years, the bullying trend has been going on within schools as bullies continue to terrorise other students without fear.

Last week another example of bullying went viral on social media showing the sort of student being bullied in a class.

In the video which can be described as gruesome, a male learner is seen harshly slapping another one, using the belt while the rest of the class is seated there watching as if nothing was happening. Last year, another learner from the same school beat another one and unfortunately ended up losing life when taken to the hospital.

There was another incident circulating on social media where a group of learners were seen beating another one in the public as people went on with their business.

One would wonder what really drives a child to be this heartless. Is the trend growing or we are now seeing more of these acts because social media has exacerbated such incidents. Are they really acting out of character or have we as members of society failed our youth by setting the right examples.

Some have been blaming parents for failing their children while some feel the quality of teachers contribute in a way.

In the past, experts have pointed out that bullying behaviour isn’t limited to school settings and can be tied to violence at home as they highlighted that students who are bullies have higher chances of being physical hurt, abused or exposed to abuse at home.

Regardless, the community has to get to the bottom of the issues; something needs to be done to find out what really makes these children to act like this. Perhaps a study needs to be done to determine the root cause of this barbaric behaviour.

The Ministry of Basic Education once threatened to engage the police and assured that at the same time school disciplinary procedure will strictly be followed to the letter. The Ministry advised that teachers should monitor the situation and act accordingly as they remain at the front line. Parents, raise your children properly knowing that you are investing into their future.

Today's thought

“Courage is fire and bullying is smoke”

– Benjamin Disraeli