NPC set to act against rising school violence
related to school bullying or violence in the first 11 months of last year, resulting in 1,100 arrests and 2,300 prosecutions, according to the procuratorate data released at the end of 2016.
“Students in some cases suffered serious injuries and that not only harmed their health, but also brought them psychological problems,” Liu said. “For example, some children might feel lonely or have difficulty with social activities after being subjected to violence.”
The frequency of violence could be attributed to schools’ negligence, “as some schools regard such fights between students as minor incidents and see no need for punishment”, she said.
Liu suggested setting up campus police in schools, as is done in some foreign countries, and entrust the officers with helping to enforce school rules and investigating or handling cases of violence.
On Friday, the NPC Standing Committee also said it would continue to tighten supervision of matters related to people’s well-being this year, such as food and the environment.
Liu Binjie, chairman of the NPC’s Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee, said that the top legislature conducted a law enforcement inspection on food safety last year, and it would focus this year on rectifying the problems found in the inspection.
For example, inspectors found that food testing and quarantine laboratories are scattered over various agencies such as health authorities and colleges.
Legislators will look this year at how to better integrate them, he said.