Law. Photo: VCG

Two students who bullied their classmate at a primary school in Datong, North China's Shanxi Province, have been reprimanded in accordance with the law and received psychological counseling and behavioral treatment, while the school's principal, vice principal and teachers involved have been sacked or dismissed, local authorities said on Tuesday. The school bullying in Datong has caused widespread public concern.

Earlier, two 9-year-old primary school students surnamed Zhao and Jin in Dacheng Bilingual School in Datong repeatedly abused, beat and bullied a 10-year-old boy surnamed Sun who lived in the same dormitory with them, according to media reports.

According to materials provided by the parents of the student who was the victim of bullying, Sun had been bullied by a classmate surnamed Zhao from the second grade, and by another classmate surnamed Jin from the fourth grade. Both of them beat and physically abused Sun.

The incident has sparked widespread concern and discussion on Chinese social media, with the topic being viewed 720 million times on Sina Weibo as of press time. Many netizens said that it is hard to imagine how painful the student who are being bullied and his family must be, and this kind of trauma cannot be easily cured.

In addition, many people are also calling for the perfection of the Minor Protection Law and more deterrent punishment measures for juvenile crimes.

The Regulation on School Protection for Minor, which came into effect on September 1, 2021, aims to prevent and control bullying and sexual assault in schools, as well as carry out sexuality education in the classroom for the sake of enhance students' awareness and defenses against sexual assault and harassment.

Schools are requested to train teachers and administrative staff on the protection of minors. Schools are also urged to establish and improve rules of conduct for communication between staff and students, as well as regulations on video surveillance, and to set up a working mechanism for preventing, reporting and dealing with sexual assault and harassment.

After the incident, the local government quickly formed a joint working group to investigate, and enforce disciplinary action. The parents of the two students were also reprimanded and ordered to receive family guidance and education.

The principal of Dacheng Bilingual School, the deputy principal in charge of primary education and campus security, and the teacher involved were relieved of their posts or dismissed for management loopholes.

At the same time, local education administration department in Datong also made a decision to reduce the enrollment scale of the school during new school year.

At the moment, the education system of Datong will carry out special rectification actions and continue to strengthen the management of educational institutions across the city, aiming to create a good environment for the healthy growth of minors.

Global Times