Addressing the need for CHILD SAFETY
The city is becoming a dangerous place for children. Every now and then, we’re hearing about children going missing, dying in traffic accidents, or drowning in rivers.
Just a week ago, an 11-year-old boy met his untimely death while playing football on school grounds. There were many people who expressed their sympathies to the boy’s family, but it seemed to be just for formality.
Associated officials, like Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sports Ts.Tsogzolmaa, gave statements, promising to “investigate the case”, “hold the school administration accountable”, and “improve parental supervision”. A task force was assigned to investigate why the goal post collapsed and caused a fatal injury to the boy’s head on June 19, the day after the incident, and found that the goal post had actually been missing a column. Upon hearing this report, the minister abruptly fired the school’s principal, Sh.Bolor-Erdene, on June 21, explaining that he failed to fulfill his obligation.
A malicious statement Sh.Bolor-Erdene after the incident prompted the minister to fire him immediately. The statement had a spiteful insinuation along the lines of, “The boy’s death was inevitable because he was from a vulnerable family and had divorced parents.”
Making sure not to be left behind on the issue, the Child, Family and Youth Development Agency held a press conference with the police. After mentioning the growith number of child victims, a spokesperson shared alarming figures related to crimes involving children.
Reportedly, 397 horse races were organized in Mongolia last year with 10,435 child jockeys. Out of these children, 629 fell off their horse, 160 were injured, three children became disabled for life, and two died. Police reports show that last year, 424 children suffered from psychological abuse, 187 were sexually abused, and 299 were physically harmed. The police underlined that 70 to 80 percent of these incidents occurred due to poor parental supervision and bad interrelation between state organizations.
When asked to elaborate, officials said that child protection teams don’t have adequate financing, there aren’t sufficient shelters, and parents aren’t as responsible as they should be.
“Parents need to understand that their lack of attention and supervision can make their child a victim of some kind of crime. We’re planning to allocate more funds to joint teams (for child protection) starting next year. In fact, the mayor should e doing this. Hence, we organized trainings for soum and district mayors. We’re working to create a child insurance fund. We have launched Model School project and related activities to improve school grounds. It’s being tested in two schools. In 2019, we will make quite a few schools more child-friendly. If state organizations don’t improve their interrelation soon, children will continue to suffer,” said a spokesperson for the Child, Family and Youth Development Agency.
Like the ministry, police and agencies, the Ulaanbaatar Specialized Inspection Agency expressed condolences to the family, assigned a task force to investigate the case, and emphasized that the school should have prevented the accident. School No.79’s football pitch was built in 2012 and last underwent repairs in April last year, according to the school administration.
On June 22, members of the Mongolian Amateur Football Amateur Group expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased 11-year-old boy. The group gave the family one million MNT to express their condolences and promised to repair the school’s football pitch to make sure it’s up to standard. A member said that they will cooperate with other organizations on the repair.
Despite the many condolences and attention state organizations are giving this issue, many people are fearful and skeptical about these actions being a “show”, especially since not a single official has taken a definitive action to prevent future accidents like this. Had it been in another country, not only the school principal but also associated officials would have been held accountable.
For instance, an earthquake, measuring 6.1 magnitude, struck in Osaka, Japan on the same day as the 11-year-old’s accident and a nine-yearold girl was killed by a collapsing wall beside a swimming pool when she was walking along the street. Mayor Takeshi Hamada apologized for her death because of the wall's collapse and expressed readiness to reprimand. The structure was apparently old and made of concrete blocks -- a known risk in earthquakes. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga ordered the Education Ministry to conduct nationwide safety checks of concrete block structures at public schools.
These Japanese officials were ready to accept responsibility for something caused by a natural disaster. Their action reassured the residents. Our officials don’t have to go to the extent of giving up their job but they could at least inspect the safety of school grounds across the country to prevent potential risks.
On the other hand, schools and kindergartens should make repairs and ensure the safety of their surrounding area before the start of a new academic year, not a year beforehand. Children always want to play outside but their parents are putting restriction due to the fear that they might get hurt while playing on cement grounds or near goal posts made of heavy iron. Who wouldn’t be frightened when a young boy is robbed of his future while playing on school ground? Schools are a place where children should feel the safest.
Overall, Cabinet and associated agencies should take this opportunity to address the safety of children and make the country a safe place for children. They need to start taking action to prevent untimely deaths of young people.