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BULLYING

Barred student sues school for a million

A 20-year-old student at prestigious boarding school Sigtuna, the alma mater of King Carl XVI Gustaf, has sued his school for a million kronor ($139,500) after he has been barred from graduation due to suspicions of bullying, according to daily Aftonbladet.

Published: 29 May 2012 10:54 CEST
Barred student sues school for a million

In April, several students at the school were suspended for two weeks after it was revealed that they had allegedly taken an active part in a bullying scandal, which has recently rocked the school.

Three were remanded into custody for aggravated assault at the time.

After being let out of custody the three were allowed to take part in classes but not to board at the school or participate in the upcoming graduation festivities on Friday, according to the paper.

One has therefore decided to sue the school for a million kronor, as he argues that the experience would be once in a lifetime and therefore priceless to him. Also, the student argues, he has already paid for his taking part in the activities.

The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” should apply to Sweden, the student argued. He has contested all allegations against him, reports the paper.

But according to the school, they have followed regulations in order to appease the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen) and the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket).

“We have followed the agreement,” said the school head, Kent Edberg, to Aftonbladet.

Over half of the school’s student body has signed a petition against the three students being barred from the graduation festivities, reports the paper.

The Local/rm

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EDUCATION

Madrid to suspend pupils who don’t report bullying at school

School kids in Spain’s capital who fail to report another pupil being bullied will be expelled for up to six days or face other punishments.

Published: 16 April 2019 11:25 CEST
Madrid to suspend pupils who don't report bullying at school
Photo: Deposit Photos

Educational authorities in Madrid want to stamp out bullying from the region’s classrooms, their newest measure aimed at preventing the climate of silence which allows bullies to continue getting away with their behaviour. 

From the next school year onwards, any pupil or teacher who fails to report an incident of bullying will be held accountable as silent witnesses.

For pupils, the punishment for not informing a teacher or any other member of staff about physical or verbal abuse against a classmate or teacher will range from a playground ban to a six-day suspension.

Each educational centre will be responsible for determining the severity of actions, or lack thereof, for those who failed to speak up.

The newly approved school coexistence decree will apply to all schools and high schools in the Madrid region, regardless of whether they’re public or private institutions.

This poster by Madrid authorities reads: “Snitch!”, “Snitch? If you mean I don't keep quiet about abuse, then I'm a snitch. The slogan reads “When it comes to abuse at school, speak up”.

Although the decree is aimed at de-stigmatising the concept of being a school snitch, several associations have expressed doubts about the end result of the measure.

“This isn’t the solution,” Lucía Martínez Martín, head of the Madrid office of Save The Children, told La Vanguardia.

“Once they put the measure into practice, they’ll realise it’s not an efficient measure.

“Children first have to know what abuse is because many of them can’t recognise it when it’s there.

“Some think insulting someone isn’t abuse but hitting someone is.

“We have to work with them to fight these abuses, promote respect and teach them their rights.”

The measure also sets the bar for how bullies themselves should be punished, considering online bullying, any form of discrimination relating to sexual orientation, race or religion, insults and threats made to teachers and numerous other forms of abuse to be serious incidents.

Bullies, depending on the severity of their actions, will have to either take part in reintegration workshops, be banned from certain schooling activities and subjects, be moved to another class or face temporary or permanent suspension.

An October 2018 report by Madrid's public prosecutor's office found that there has been sharp increase in the number of reported bullying cases involving “very young children”. 

 

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