The mother of a seven-year-old boy who claims to have been repeatedly beaten by fellow pupils at a private school says the authorities are not doing enough to help her son and address the scourge of bullying.
The woman recounted how, since January, her son often arrived home with bruises and later told her he was pushed around and hit by three pupils.
She brought this to the attention of the school but claims no concrete action was taken. Correspondence between her and the school was seen by this newspaper.
I just want the authorities to do more to protect children, no matter what school they go to
The woman said that last April her son returned home with strangulation marks around his neck. He told her the bullies had thrown him to the ground and started strangling him. Another boy intervened to stop them.
She took her son to a doctor who wrote a certificate noting that the marks were compatible with pressure applied by fingers. This was sent to the school. Desperate to put an end to this, she took the matter to the government’s anti-bullying department; however, she was told it could take no action unless it was “invited in” because they boy’s school was private.
She was then directed to the department responsible for independent schools, which contacted the school’s head.
However, after being informed that a meeting would take three weeks, she decided to file a police report, seen by The Sunday Times of Malta, in an effort to pressure the school into taking action. However, all that happened was that the school cancelled the meeting.
The mother stopped sending her son to the school, which she does not wish to name because she feels that bullying is a broader issue.
“The government should be safeguarding all children and not just those in State schools. More needs to be done. Maybe there should be random inspections in all schools,” she suggested.
A spokesman for the Education Ministry said that the government’s anti-bullying service followed up all cases reported to it and worked with the senior management team of schools concerned.
“There are various levels of structures within all schools which deal with the issue of bullying. All professionals in education, and not just guidance teachers, are duty-bound to be on the alert for bullying issues in classrooms. Every school, including Church and independent, avails of the services of trained guidance teachers and counsellors,” the spokesman said.
He added that the Education Regulatory Compliance Section, within the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education, was backed by law to be given access to information requested from any school.
The mother insisted that, in her son’s case, not enough was done. She shared her story to create awareness. “My son changed. He became more aggressive… I just want the authorities to do more to protect children, no matter what school they go to,” she said.