Stiffer penalties to combat surge in bullying
Seeking to tackle the rise in cases of bullying, the government has announced a series of preventive measures which include, among others, stricter penalties for students for acts of violence at school and parents’ co-responsibility for their children’s actions.
While the percentage of students who reported being the victim of bullying at least a few times in a month in 2022 decreased compared to 2018 (23.5% from 27%), there was, nevertheless, a large increase in the number of minors aged 13 to 17 who have committed offenses under the Criminal Code, which indicates the seriousness of the acts, in the last four years. What’s more, school truancy will be recorded as an absence, while photography and filming at school is banned.
The measures were outlined on Tuesday by Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis at the 3rd Middle School of Polichni in Thessaloniki, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as part of the national strategy and information campaign to combat violence and bullying in schools, which was drafted, and will be implemented, with the support of the Onassis Foundation.
In addition, a special digital platform (stop-bullying.gov.gr), where periodic reports will be made by pupils and parents, will be set up.
“The success of this entire effort will ultimately be judged by our effectiveness in managing the incidents that are reported. Once the complaint is made, then we will have to be effective and deal with the incident in the right way,” Mitsotakis said.
Parents will be responsible for repairing any damage their children cause to the school. The measure will take effect immediately.
The measures will be enforced in September when the 2024-25 school year gets under way.
Included in this long list of measures is the increase in the duration of a student’s suspension, a change of class and exclusion from activities, cultural or sporting events and excursions. It will also be made easier to change a pupil’s school environment.
