KUCHING: Tackling bullying is a concerted effort between school administrators, teachers, parents and other relevant authorities.
In a recent case last Sunday, it was reported that three Form 1 students at Sekolah Menengah (SM) Sains Kuching were severely beaten up in a dormitory by a group of eleven seniors from Form 3 to 5.
New Sarawak Tribune interviewed parents yesterday on their take on such situations and how bullying should be addressed.
Manager Karen Wei, 42, emphasised that it all started from home, so parents need to be responsible and nurture their children.
She said while teachers undoubtedly had many duties, they still had to be aware of the warning signs of bullying as some students may be too afraid to come forward.
“Apart from physical bullying such as in this case, cyberbullying is very prevalent these days as well,” she said, adding that talks should be held to advise children and youth on who they could approach in such a situation.
At the same time, Wei advised that parents should not just jump to conclusions when it came to bullying cases. They should investigate first and find out what really happened.
Advisory manager Rachel Tan, 36, also said that parents should regularly check on their children to keep them in line at school, while still striking a balance by giving them space to develop.
“Even though teachers should have the initiative to keep parents informed, parents should play their part because it takes two hands to clap,” she said.
She pointed out that social media nowadays has increased awareness of bullying.
Touching on Sunday’s case, she said the senior students should have been role models for their juniors instead of bullying them.
“It was fair to lodge police reports as a warning that bullying is not the answer.”
As a parent herself, she expressed sadness that the security at the residential school, SM Sains Kuching, was not apparent.
Tea lady Suzana Ibrahim, 45, agreed that bullying cases should be reported to the police as a lesson to bullies.
“My own son was beaten up before in school for being wrongly accused of stealing. It was settled within the school but I was not satisfied. He’s my son, after all,” she said.
She said that counselling should be given to bullies as well as the bullied.
Meanwhile, administrative assistant Cynthia Silyva, 47, said that in very serious bullying cases, it may be advisable to have the bullies suspended from school.
She said that bullied students may be afraid to go back to school in such situations and their studies would thus be negatively impacted.
“There should also be counselling to prevent bullying from happening,” she emphasised.
Another interviewee who preferred to be known as just Wong, in his late 40’s, said that orientation programmes should be carried out to educate students and increase their awareness on matters of bullying.
He said that if the matter was not nipped in the bud, bullies might think themselves superior when they went out into the world.
“This should not be allowed to happen,” he said.
