School violence surges almost 40%

School violence resumed its upward trend in 2010 after a brief drop the previous year, indicating growing aggression among the nation’s young students, a government report showed Tuesday.

According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, a total of 7,823 cases of violence were reported in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide in 2010, up 40 percent from 5,605 in the previous year.

The number of cases of school violence has shown an upward trajectory since 2006, when the ministry began compiling the relevant data, except for a drop in 2009, the report said. The peak was 8,813 cases in 2008.

Experts are calling on the government to devise fundamental solutions.

“Violent students often fail to even recognize they’ve done something wrong, which causes the recurrence of such crimes,” said Kim Mi-jeong of the Foundation for Preventing Youth Violence.

“Simply giving students some lectures cannot change their perception. Teachers, parents and society as a whole should join hands to guarantee nurturing environments for students,” she added.

The government has also spoken out on this issue. “The key to preventing violence among students is to improve overall on-campus culture,” one education ministry official said. “To achieve this goal, the government has been trying to enact diverse measures, such as offering students more in-depth ethics education and counseling services.” 

(Yonhap News)