Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Editor's Note:

School bullying is a common problem in China. To tackle it, recently China's educational authority issued a special circular, ordering primary and middle schools as well as secondary vocational schools to take effective measures to eradicate violence on campus. To what extent will this circular help curb school bullying? What should be done to eradicate campus violence? The Global Times has collected three opinions on the issue.

Students need to learn to follow rules



It is vital to punish those committing school bullying. Punishment both deters and educates perpetrators and provides other students with a safe environment to get education. China's current laws and regulations tend to impose lenient sentences on juveniles. Although rehabilitation remains an option for juveniles breaching the penal law, it is rarely used in practice. Schools lack effective punishments against juvenile abusers. Given the above, it is necessary to urge the public power to intervene in school bullying, and reform the current rehabilitation mechanisms to address the issue.

However, criminal penalties and sever punishments are not enough, and are simplifying the sophisticated problem. Given the unique status of children, schools should raise students' awareness of rules from the very beginning to prevent campus violence. For years, academic education has been prioritized over teaching the rules in Chinese schools. Although the manuals like Regulations for Pupils and Middle School Students are distributed to each student, these doctrines are simplistically written and lack contextual examples to make sense to students.

In addition, an increasing number of teachers are becoming reluctant and unwilling to point out the inappropriateness of students' behavior. Juveniles' awareness of rules is strengthened by correcting their mistakes. And without correction and punishment education can only be incomplete. Besides, parents should also divert more attention from academic performance to rules. Above all, a set of behavioral norms need to be established to encourage families, schools and the society to bear their due responsibilities.

Children can be cultivated. Educational authorities have to draw up a detailed code of conduct with contextual examples to help make students aware of the rules and inform them of the potential consequences of touching the bottom line. We can draw experiences and learn from developed countries on this issue.

An information system, led by schools and with strong familial and social participation, should also be established to tackle campus violence. As school bullying concerns a large number of students, schools can take the lead in coping with the issue, and meanwhile be entrusted with more power to punish abusers. Effective measures, which combine punishment and education, should be taken to raise students' awareness of rules and to make campus a safer place for other innocent students.

People's Daily



We all pay price for spread of violence



If school bullying isn't dealt with properly, we will all bear the consequences. In recent years, this phenomenon has constantly been exposed across the nation. In some circumstances, the behavior of students was so abominable that some teachers were hurt or even killed by students.

The failure to stop school bullying has shown the lack of legal enforcement. As long as there is no severe consequence, laws and regulations will exist in name only.

The Chinese people, most of the time, lack a sense of the rule of law and stick to the traditional idea that harmony is more important than justice. Once school bullying occurs, the schools may first choose to keep the case quiet for the sake of their own reputation, which ends up shielding the offender from punishment.

In January, three Chinese students studying in Los Angeles were sentenced to jail for kidnapping and assaulting their Chinese classmate, which drew wide attention. But in the meantime, a similarly serious bullying case in a middle school in Nanjing went unnoticed.

Laws and regulations do not only serve to punish offenders, but to construct a safe sphere for all citizens. This requires the refinement of rules, clear identification of obligations and strict law enforcement.

The students who impose bullying on others believe that the schools will not take any real actions against them and that the victims dare not to blow the whistle. As a result, they behave more recklessly.

In the meantime, the victims usually refrain from reporting their suffering as long as it is bearable because they know that schools will do nothing about it and they may even face a tougher vengeance from their tormentors if they report the bully.

Meanwhile, the schools are not used to solving problems under a legal framework. Some schools, out of fear of more extreme cases and public criticism, only resort to criticism and education, which brews more room for the loathsome practice in schools.

The latest special rectification will help deter on the predicament of school bullying. Legislation must make clear the responsibility of schools and relevant departments.

If we can't stay vigilant about the reality reflected by school bullying and let the law decide, similar problems will keep emerging.

The Beijing News



Teach our kids values, not just raw 'facts'



By Lei Xiangping

The current epidemic of bullying across the country necessitates a blitz on the practice, but these short-term methods are not enough to curb bullying in the long run. There are systematic flaws that need to be eradicated in order to stop students attacking others, both physically, verbally, and even through online harassment.

Our traditional views toward bullying and some flaws in our basic methods of education have encouraged school bullying. Sometimes bullying is relatively harmless, but increasingly we've seen cases of full-blown assault and torture.

There are three basic problems. Firstly, there are few lessons regarding teaching students to abide by laws and regulations. Only by instilling them with an awareness of the law at an early age can they really notice when their behavior crosses a line.

Our education system has long concentrated on marks and examinations, rather than teaching social skills or empathy for others. If we teach students to care about other people, they will be ashamed of the idea of bullying.

Another problem is that we don't put enough care into underperforming students. Normally, students who perform well in class will be preferred, while those who don't are treated as pariahs. Statistics shows that bullying perpetrators, to a large extent, arise from among these pariah students. However, one ignored reality lies in that these pariahs are usually born in an unhealthy environment and they opt to vent their frustration via bullying others. In truth, they are also victims of school bullying.

A quick campaign introduced by the educational authorities is badly needed to prevent school bullying from worsening. In addition, removing purely utilitarian ideas from our basic education system and paying more attention to educating our students to be all-round human beings should also be high on the agenda. Imparting knowledge and cultivating personal values should be the two basic wheels of our education if we want to stamp out bullying in the long run.

The author is an editor with the news desk of China Radio International. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn