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The Minister of Education met Lindsay’s parents on Monday evening. This 13-year-old girl killed herself in early May after being the victim of school bullying and cyberbullying.
“We are going to put additional resources” to fight against school harassment, promises this Tuesday on franceinfo, the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye, the day after his meeting with Lindsay’s parents. This 13-year-old girl killed herself on May 12 in Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais) after being the victim of school harassment and cyberbullying.
The minister assures that the government is “stock”but he admits that it is still necessary “stepping up on this issue” : “There is still a long way to go obviously, because we have dramas in National Education which are intolerable and unbearable”.
“Obviously, there were dysfunctions”
After this tragedy, Pap Ndiaye recognizes a “collective failure”. He mentions, for example, the school bullying prevention system pHARe, which “was in place” at Lindsay College. This one “is effective” And “allows you to detect situations, but it does not work as it should in all establishments”, admits the minister. He claims that a “main measures [du harcèlement de l’adolescente] was definitively excluded from the college on February 27, but obviously there were malfunctions and the administrative investigation will have to shed light on it”.
To avoid such tragedies, measures will be taken, promises the Minister of National Education. In particular, it announces the forthcoming establishment of a “harassment referent in each establishment who will be attached to the head of the establishment”. This mission will be “paid, in addition to salary”says Pap Ndiaye.
It also plans to include “issues of harassment in the context of new missions” of “pact” offered to volunteer teachers from the start of the school year. “We are putting additional resources on the free numbers 3020 and 3018 on cyberbullying and school harassment”, adds the minister. Pap Ndiaye also asks “to the heads of establishments to systematically contact the public prosecutor and the judicial authorities in the event of proven harassment”.
“Everyone needs to be mobilized, including parents”
The Minister of National Education recalls that bullying children in primary school may be changed establishment in order to separate him from his victim. Pap Ndiaye claims to have “signed a decree” currently being examined by the Council of State “to allow the aggressor pupil to change establishment, including if the parents oppose it”.
But Pap Ndiaye maintains that “the issue of harassment does not only concern National Education and its staff”. Society as a whole must also become aware of this phenomenon and act. “If we want to decisively reduce bullying at school, and this is imperative, everyone needs to be mobilized, including parents”, urges the Minister. He asks parents in particular “to be careful and to look at what make their children on social networks”. “We are going to do our job on our side by raising awareness among parents at the start of the year”he adds.