7 in 10 Pinoy students suffer from violence in schools - study

MANILA, Philippines - Seven in 10 Filipino students suffer from different forms of violence in schools, a recent study done by a private institution showed.

The study, entitled “Towards A Child-friendly Education System: A Baseline Study on Violence Against Children in Public Schools,” found that four in 10 children in grades 1 to 3 and 7 in 10 students in grades 4 to 6 and high school have experienced violence in school.

The study was conducted in six provinces and three cities in the country with a total of 6,931 respondents.

The study was conducted by the Philippine Women’s University, in coordination with PLAN International, United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the Council for the Welfare of Children.

The report showed that verbal abuse – such as shouting, cursing, teasing, and humiliation – is the most prevalent form of violence in school.

Male students were discovered to be more likely to experience physical violence from peers and school personnel than female students.

Both male and female students are susceptible to verbal sexual harassment.

Children in urban schools were found to be more exposed to violence than those in rural schools.

Education Undersecretary Albert Muyot said the education department would soon establish a system that would help them monitor incidents of violence against children in schools.                                                                                      

“We are alarmed to the extent that we really need to make a policy that would improve the protection of our school children against violence,” he said. – With Rainier Allan Ronda