A new, comprehensive report by the Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research (CESFRS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed the distressing prevalence of violence in school.
According to the CESFRS, the report’s objective is to diagnose violence in these settings, measuring the prevalence and identifying the different forms and manifestations of violence, as well as the actors involved, perpetrators or victims among students and educational staff.
Several types of violence, including verbal abuse and mockery that affects a third of primary and 55.9 percent of secondary school students, as well as physical violence and stampede that are also prevalent in schools, the report highlighted.
It added that students of all levels face other violence such as sexual harassment, cyberviolence and violence of appropriation (simple theft or with extortion and damage to personal objects).
In schools, verbal and physical abuse is perpetrated by different actors, depending on grade levels, the study says.
Boys are the main perpetrators of such violence in primary school, the report found. But, it added, teachers may also be responsible, while at the secondary level, the main perpetrators of verbal and symbolic violence are students, followed by teachers, intruders, groups of young people outside the school, staff and, to a lesser extent, parents.
Regarding punishment, the practice of physical violence in schools is still present despite its formal prohibition. Verbal and symbolic punishments such as bullying and insults are most common at the primary level, followed by so-called educational punishments, such as copying lines and lowering grades, the study showed.
Warning and messages sent to parents are the most commonly used punishments, the report indicated, adding that other educational sanctions at this stage extra homework. Corporal punishment is still present in some institutions, affecting boys more often than girls.
In terms of school climate, the report indicates that it is generally perceived in a positive way in primary school, but deteriorates over time. Reaching a very low level in qualifying secondary education, especially because of fear and insecurity, especially in the toilets (35.1%), the surroundings of the school (47.5%) and on the way to school (45%).
The study presents avenues for reflection and recommendations to prevent violence in schools that has a negative effect on the school climate. These include clear policies to combat violence in schools, better collection of data on violence to guide these policies more effectively, and the fight against corporal punishment and cyberviolence.
The document also calls for better protection of children through mechanisms to prevent and reduce cases of violence and sexual harassment, but also through the establishment of adequate training for educational staff.
