Education office says it won’t tolerate bullying

THE Department of Education (DepEd) Baguio City Division officer lawyer Agustin Laban III said the agency has zero tolerance for bullying of students in school.

He bared this during the 20th National Children’s Month press conference held recently, when a media practitioner asked a question that made the officials recall the September 16, 2011 incident in the Baguio Central Elementary School.

A grade 6 pupil was mauled to death by his four classmates inside the classroom in September 2011. The 12–year-old was mauled when he was writing on the blackboard.

Laban said that at present, they practice zero tolerance on school bullying in order to avoid repetition of the incident.

He said they had been talking to elementary teachers to perform their jobs diligently, adding that they encouraged teachers to ask for permission from the school principal before they leave the classroom.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the task to discipline kids is not the sole responsibility of teachers, but should be a collaborative effort from parents, teachers, and concerned citizens.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” said City Social Welfare and Development Officer Betty Fangasan.

She encouraged parents to be firm in disciplining their kids in order to avoid such accidents and to have productive children someday.

Laban said that 34,000 students were enrolled in public elementary schools, while 19,295 were enrolled in public high schools. Over 76,000 are enrolled in elementary and secondary levels in Baguio City.