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Bullying is rampant in local schools: Survey
The vast majority of students in Indonesian schools say that they have been targeted by bullies, according to a survey released on Monday
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he vast majority of students in Indonesian schools say that they have been targeted by bullies, according to a survey released on Monday.
The survey, conducted in April by the National Child Protection Commission, reported that 87.6 percent of 1,026 respondents said that they suffered from mental, physical or verbal abuse, ranging from name calling to beatings.
Classmates were identified as the source of bullying by 42.1 percent of respondents who reported ill-treatment, followed by administrators and teachers at 29.9 percent and non-teaching personnel such as janitors and security guards at 28 percent.
The numbers were troubling, according to Badriyah Fayumi, the National Child Protection Commission’s education chief. “Violence is still considered normal in many parts of society.”
Societal indifference to violence had several harmful effects, including a failure to address violence in a serious and systematic manner, the report said.
Victims of violence were also discouraged from lodging allegations of bullying, the report added, saying less than 15 percent of respondents were willing to make such claims.
Asronun Niam: National Child Protection Commission (KPAI) deputy chief. (Courtesy of KPAI)
According to Asronun Niam, the commission’s deputy chief, the real numbers on bullying could be much higher.
Schools needed to be proactive to prevent violence and had to find constructive ways to deal with violent incidents, the report said.
Meanwhile, commission chairperson Maria Ulfah told The Jakarta Post that educators needed a sense of proportion.
“Schools have to be more friendly to children. A low tolerance of bad behavior often results in large punishments for small offenses.”
“Schools have yet to maximize their ability to act as mediators. Proof of this can be seen whenever mediation fails. When that happens and no compromise is reached, schools hand the issues over to the police,” Badriyah said.
The most recent high-profile case of bullying occurred on July 24, when nine seniors at Don Bosco High School in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, physically abused young students outside the school.
The alleged bullies face expulsion, although the case remains under investigation by the police.
Four first-year students said that they were bullied during the schools much-criticized student orientation program and filed reports with the police on Wednesday.
According to Hermawan, the students said that they were kidnapped by eight seniors and 10 alumni on Friday.
The assailants then covered the heads of the four students with jackets before slapping, beating and burning them with cigarettes, Hermawan said.
According to the commission, the violence was evidence of the government’s weak enforcement of provisions of the Constitution that stipulate that children have the right to live and grow in an environment that is free from violence and discrimination.
Contacted separately, Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh said that the parents of bullied students must file complaints with the police.
“The law must give severe punishment so that this will not turn into a customary tradition,” Nuh told reporters on Monday. (png)
