CHECKMATE BULLYING IN YOUR SCHOOLS: ANAMBRA PARENTS TELL SCHOOL HEADS

REPORTER: OBY ARINZE

As primary and secondary schools in Anambra State get set for the resumption of the 2022/2023 academic session, some parents have called on school authorities in the area to protect young pupils and students in their care from being bullied by their senior colleagues.

The people, who made the call while speaking with Radio Nigeria in Onitsha, stressed that it was necessary to reduce the rising cases of bullying in schools.

Bullying is said to have caused many disturbing health issues, ranging from mental to physical trauma, particularly among the surviving victims.

In Nigeria, there are many recorded cases of bullying, especially among secondary school students, some of which led to certain horrifying consequences.

To this end, parents in Onitsha had deemed it imperative to draw the attention of teaching and administrative staff of schools in the state to end the trend

One of them and a lecturer at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Igbariam campus, Dr. Ifeyinwa Manafa, blamed bullying on poor upbringing of a child, arguing that many of the bullying issues started from home.

Dr. Manafa called on parents to always monitor their children’s activities, suggesting that schools should have good guidance and counselling officers, who would always organise programmes on implications of bullying for students.

For her part, a mother, Mrs. Miriam Chukwuma, suggested that Parents Association should mandate school authorities to scrutinise school prefects and teachers properly.

A parent, Mrs. Ngozi Nwene, who described bullying as a cankerworm eating deep into the school system, opined that schools should pay serious attention to the relationship between senior and junior students.

Another parent, Mrs. Chinwe Eze, observed that talking to children freely about their friends from an early age by their parents would help establish good communication relationship with them.

According to Mrs. Eze, it’s reassuring for the children to know that their parents are interested in what they do and what is going on in their lives.

A school administrator, Mrs. Chinyere Anekwe, who noted that bullying could be verbal or physical, adviced children to always report unpleasant treatments to school authorities.

For a medical practitioner, Dr. Sandra Anyadiegwu, bullying has psychological and physical effects on the victims.

The respondents submitted that the synergy between schools and parents should be strengthened to fight bullying successfully.

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU