Review anti-bullying protocols, DepEd urges Ateneo, other schools

The Department of Education (DepEd) urged the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and other schools to conduct a “thorough and complete review” of their operations manual, regulations, and protocols in handling cases of bullying following the dismissal of a student for physically and verbally abusing other students.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones, in a recorded voice message sent to media, said the decision of ADMU to dismiss the student involved in the bullying incident is in “ac“To

cordance with the provisions of their own operations manual as well as the law on bullying.”

Briones noted that while the child will leave the premises of ADMU following the dismissal order, “he will be carrying with him whatever it is, whatever burdens he has which drove him to the kind of behavior which he exhibited.” She also stressed that at the same time, “the victims – and all of us so: The faces of the victims – will also be carrying the burden, the terror, and the trauma of their experience.”

First step

Briones believes that the ADMU’s decision to dismiss the learner is only the first step in resolving the issues. “We believe that this is only the first step: dismissing or expelling the student,” she said. “We should not end it here because it does not solve the problem at all,” she added.

For DepEd, the dismissal order “relieves ADMU of the responsibility of resolving the issue” – at most. “We, therefore, urge – and I’m sure ADMU is already doing this – a thorough and complete review of their operations manual, their regulations, and their protocols in handling cases of bullying,” she said.

Briones stressed the need for ADMU as well as other schools to review their anti-bullying policies. “For all we know, there are many other cases of bullying which are happening in the campus as we also believe that there are even many more instances of bullying in many more schools so this problem has to be faced,” she said

The issue of bullying, Briones emphasized, is “not just a problem of ADMU which can be solved by the dismissal of a student [but] it is also the problem of society, itself.” Thus, DepEd urged the ADMU and all other institutions “to align their protocols, their policies in the handling of bullying cases with those of the DepEd which is based on the law.”

Briones noted that the anti-bullying policies of DepEd are anchored on two laws or regulations which are applied in the case of bullying. “The first is the antibullying law which is directly affecting this issue and the second is the policy on child protection,” she said.

Given this, DepEd urges schools to conduct a thorough and complete review of their operations manuals, handbooks, regulations, and protocols in preventing and addressing cases of bullying. Private schools are enjoined to align their antibullying policies with that of the Department, as mandated by law, specifically Republic Act 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, issued through DepEd Order No. 55, s. 2013 and reiterated in DepEd Memorandum No. 5, s. 2017 for strict implementation.

The Department further underscores compliance to the Child Protection Policy, issued through DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, which requires all public and private kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools to create their own Child Protection Committee (CPC) to ensure that cases and instances of abuse and bullying are closely monitored and expeditiously investigated.

Coordination needed

Meanwhile, Briones noted the need for “more coordination, more consultation and more exchanges of experience” – not only “within the public school sector itself or the private school sector separately but it will among the public and private school sector schools.”

“As we all know, private schools have their own manuals of operations even if as we, in public schools, follow a set of guidelines which are applicable to all schools,” Briones explained. Thus, DepEd hopes for strengthened coordination, consultation, and exchange of experiences between and among the public and private schools to address all forms of violence against children.

Most importantly, the DepEd reiterates the “role of peers and teachers in stepping in and anticipating possible incidents of violence against children, and in taking action as quickly as possible before matters get out of hand.”

Wake-up call

For DepEd, the incident should serve as a “wake-up call for everyone who believes in education and the protection of learners to take bullying in all its forms seriously.” Bullying, the department added, “is a societal issue that demands the cooperation of teachers, parents, school administrators, community members, and even the media to instill among learners the culture of peace and the value of respect for one another.”

“We also believe that this is a wakeup call for the entire community,” Briones said. “For all those who believe in education, for all those who believe in the protection of learners, those who believe that our schools should be safe for our learners – and that our learners should be shaped and nurtured in the ways of peace, of getting along with each other and adjusting to the reality of the world they are moving

around in,” she added.

Active role of media sought

Briones also called on the entire community – those who have interest in education – to “give us feedback.”

In particular, DepEd acknowledges the role of media in “bringing out the issues that are involved” in bullying. “We’d like to encourage bringing out stories because we know and we feel that that there are many more cases of bullying which have not been brought to public attention,” she added.

Briones said that while there are cases of cases of bullying that have been resolved quietly, the “media is very important” because in the case of the ADMU bullying, the “public outrage was really a ignited and we hope that this will lead to more care, more watchfulness, more caring for all learners – whether they have problems or not.”

Everyone’s a stakeholder

While she calls for a review of anti-bullying protocols, Briones urged everyone’s involvement to address it. “We know for a fact that learners do not necessarily confide to their parents at particular stages in their lives and they tend to share their burdens more with their peers and also with their teachers,” she said. “We therefore urge learners and particularly the teachers who see the students everyday – who sees how they behave and who can notice patterns of behavior among these students to take steps and to anticipate possible accidents which may happen,” she added.

Briones said that teachers, in particular, have a big role to play. “We’re practically asking our teachers to keep an eye on students and if there are signals, signs that trouble may crop up, take action as quickly as possible,” she said. Informing the parents and all the affected officials is also necessary “before matters get worse.”

Overall, Briones said that this particular incident is not just a case that pertains to a young person in ADMU. “Although several young persons in ADMU were terribly hurt and really physically as well as psychology damaged, this is all about education, all about nurturing our learners and this is where all of us come in – the DepEd, the schools, their staff, the community, and above all the parents and the media,” she ended.

ADMU President Fr Jose Ramon Villarin on Sunday announced that the school decided to dismiss the learner involved in the bullying incident “after a thorough investigation.” The videos of the ADMU student bullying his peers continue to make rounds online. This has once again sparked a national interest on bullying in schools nationwide.