Kovář confirmed that the case in Pilsen is of an extreme nature and is currently the subject of a police investigation. “Yes, if I have information about this case, it is extreme, which is why the Police of the Czech Republic is dealing with it,” stated that the Czech School Inspectorate had not yet seen such a serious case. The girl should have been forced by her peers to extremely disgusting and perverse practices.
A massive problem
According to the latest report prepared by the Czech School Inspectorate in cooperation with the National Institute of Mental Health, pupils do not feel completely safe in schools.
“In the Czech education system, we must pay increased attention to all reports that pupils do not feel as safe, have a greater tendency to self-harm, to depressions, to various types of sadness, which sometimes progress to self-harm. A student recently jumped out of a school window, thank God these are rare incidents so far. But we have to pay much more attention to the preventive things, so that the children feel good in the collective, so that the school is a safe, open environment,” stated Kovář in the Epicenter, adding that another important factor is communication. “To in case the child he starts to feel dangerous, he is pushed out in the collective, there are small taunts so that we don’t overlook it, so that we give it that weight and the child feels that the adults will help him if his classmates don’t help him.” he added.
A scarecrow named cyberbullying
Most often, children encounter verbal bullying in schools, which can often go much further. From insults, ridicule due to appearance or clothing, swearing to threats, theft and physical violence. One of the big problems, according to the deputy school inspector, is cyberbullying.
“Whether it’s photos, whether it’s videos, whether it’s some recordings of verbal expressions of other pupils or even teachers. They are often mocked until it leads to insults, that it is no longer on the border of irony and humor, but it is already beyond the border and becomes humiliation. That’s how it happens most often,” explains Kovář.
Cell phones banned in schools?!
The question remains whether, for example, a complete ban on mobile phones and tablets or the introduction of uniforms could solve the situation.
“These systemic changes are emerging, I’ll take it from computing or digital technology. I think that the ban is not the right one and it is not even completely right that mobile phones and tablets should be used freely all the time, that means they should be used for teaching and for the student, and the school should set the rules. The second thing is a uniform or some more uniform clothing. There is no money for it, there is no legislation in place for it, and I have not heard from any of my information a strong voice like a majority or large group of schools, school facilities or parentsthat they would like their children to go to school in uniform,” Kovář said in the Epicenter.
Warning signs
The expert of the school inspection also drew attention to when to call attention, when something does not seem right to you and when something is happening with the child. According to him, the warning signs are unequivocal and in most cases always the same.
“The child is not interested not only in things from school, but also in other things, he avoids the team, he tries to be at home in some kind of isolation, in some kind of safe environment. He communicates very little, he doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t look for new stimuli and he’s so alone. The situation is already bad, it is actually necessary to communicate with the child on a relatively daily basis,” concluded Kovář.
In the last three years, 57% of elementary schools and 63% of secondary schools have dealt with bullying among pupils at least once. In the case of elementary schools, compared to the survey from 2015/2016 this is an increase of 10 percent, for secondary schools by less than 3 percent.
