Bully suicides highlight school failures

Ministry measures call for dispatch of counselors, strengthening monitors


The recent suicides of school bullying victims in Daegu have shocked the nation, especially since their parents and teachers didn’t even know what they had been going through. Criticism has mounted over schools’ negligence, and parents and education experts have called for measures to prevent school violence.

A 14-year-old, who leapt to his death last week, left a suicide note detailing the abuse he suffered.

The boy surnamed Kim listed the things that two classmates forced him to do, including playing an online game using their IDs and punishing him when he failed to meet their expectations by wrapping a radio cord around his neck and dragging him to eat crumbs off the floor.

The Daegu Police said last week that they are considering whether to issue an arrest warrant for the two boys who bullied him.

Earlier this month, a video recorded on the surveillance camera of an elevator also shocked many. It showed a high school girl going up to the rooftop to take her own life. She never came downstairs.

One out of 10 teenagers aged 15-19 thought about committing suicide at least once in the last year, according to national figures.

“There are many teenagers who call us about their bullying problems and many of them say actually try to commit suicide, but most of them never succeed due to fear,” said a counseling teacher on condition of anonymity.

She added students hesitate to talk to their teachers and parents because they don’t believe their guardians can protect them fully 24 hours a day and feel humiliated.

With the recent attention on bullying, the Education Ministry announced a set of measures to address the problem on Sunday, including dispatching 1,800 counselors to schools to make student counseling available at all times while designating personnel at regional education offices to function as supporting staff. The ministry also said it will check for school bullying twice a year from elementary, middle to high schools and create an environment in which students and schools feel free to talk about bullying and protect the victims from further violence.

President Lee Myung-bak also stressed monitoring efforts at every school.

“The ages of students bullied are getting younger. Bullying is in a serious stage. Each education offices should monitor what’s going on at schools. It’s not just the problem for the Education Ministry, but something that every ministers should deal with,” Lee was quoted by his spokesperson as saying during a meeting of senior presidential secretaries.

But experts say the measures the government reflect 20/20 hindsight and have been decided by budget guidelines and short-sightedness.

“I see many of the counseling teachers dispatched to each school not fulfilling students’ needs as some lack proper knowledge in student counseling or are preoccupied by other works that schools assign to them because they don’t really understand what the teachers can do for their students,” said the teacher.

A parents’ group also demanded more systematic and customized counseling and education for students about bullying.

“If a student has a bullying problem, there should be a systematic and professional way for teachers to solve their problems and that should start from the level of teachers’ colleges,” said the group in an official statement.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)