Cases of bullying will not stop with the expulsion of a bully, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said after Ateneo de Manila University dismissed a junior high school student who was caught on video bullying a schoolmate.
“If there is a kid who committed wrongdoing and the school [expelled] him, do you think the problem will stop? No. I’m sure Ateneo is also aware of that,” Briones told the Manila Standard in an interview Sunday.
Briones said Ateneo should look into its implementing rules and regulations that deal with bullying.
“They should also look for other [bullying] instances because these instances are not being talked about by the kids to their parents,” she added.
“The parents, on the other hand, should know that the behavioral problems that the children have are connected with their families, so the parents of both the bully and the victim should know these things,” she added.
Teachers also have an obligation to check the behavior and attitude of their students, she said.
“Because the children don’t speak these problems to their parents casually, the teachers become more aware of these problems,” she said.
Briones said it would be better if private schools aligned their rules with Department of Education protocols for addressing such matters.
“In our protocol, the teachers have a duty to really observe the behavior of the children because they are the best persons to know the possible violations in school,” she said.
“A deeper understanding of the bullying problem is really important.”
Briones said that the DepEd has dealt with many cases of bullying that did not get the media coverage that the Ateneo case did.
“Ateneo is not the only school that has these problems. There are many instances of bullying [in other places] ,” she said.
Briones said bullying could have a serious effect on children, noting that in other countries, young students have even taken their lives due to the emotional stress and trauma after being bullied.
“Victims don’t get to tell their parents about it. Their classmates can’t even do much to help. Some
teachers are also not aware of it. They might do something bad to themselves,” she said.
The DepEd, she said, has been campaigning against bullying by proliferating anti-bullying posters and establishing school councils.
Also, through Parent-Teacher Association in schools, parents and the teacher can discuss the problem among themselves, she said.
“Reporting [the incident], observation [of the students’ behavior], immediate action from the school, and the support from the parents are critical,” she said.
“We have solved so many cases and saved many children. They were not necessarily given media attention but when everyone cooperates, we can avoid having these incidents,” she said.
“This is really a wake-up call for us, especially for all the teachers, students, and even classmates that when they see instances of bullying, they have to report it,” Briones said of the Ateneo case.
“All these [positive] outcomes will only happen if all of us are going to cooperate,” she added.
The Palace commended Ateneo for its “swift action” on the matter.
On Thursday, a video of the incident showing a student challenging his schoolmate to a fight inside a washroom in Ateneo went viral, sparking a national conversation where the public and even local officials weighed in.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the bully “should be beaten senseless.”
The Philippine Taekwondo Association, on the other hand, has proposed an indefinite ban on the Ateneo junior high school student who was caught in a viral video bullying a fellow student.
PTA president Robert Aventajado said the student, who happens to be a young taekwondo practitioner, will now be banned from all belt promotions, tournaments, and other events officially recognized by the organization.
It recommended that the student undergo counseling. Should the bully or his family reject rehabilitation and counseling, “the PTA will have no choice but to expel the practitioner from the association,” Aventajado said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday backed the decision to kick out the bully.
“It’s a very strong warning against bullying in schools everywhere,” Guevarra said in a text message.
“For as long as the parties concerned were afforded due process, and the ADMU decision was in accordance with the published manual of student discipline, I agree completely with the school’s action,” he added. With Rey E. Requejo
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