Greek Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports Kyriakos Pierrakakis presented an overview of the first results of the Ministry’s framework to combat school violence and bullying, on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The minister provided data from reports submitted to the platform stop-bullying.gov.gr and the implementation of the mobile phone ban in school classrooms.
“The fight against school bullying is ongoing and has started yielding results,” Pierrakakis stated, further adding that according to data 407 reports to the stop-bullying platform have been submitted, with solutions being provided either within the school environment or through a secondary committee for more serious incidents.
Most of the reports submitted to the stop-bullying.gov.gr platform, launched in April, have been made by parents.
According to Ministry data, 53% of the 407 reports concerned secondary education, while 47% related to primary education. Additionally, 359 reports were submitted by parents and 48 by students.
Regarding the implementation of the new school regulations, related to the school mobile phone ban, he stressed the fact that teachers have embraced the regulation, as phones were often used as tools to record bullying incidents.
813 suspensions have been imposed for mobile phone use, so far, indicating that the measure is proving to be successful.
However, Pierrakakis also admitted that there is need for schools to be further staffed with more psychologists and social workers, a necessary step to support the measures.
Having acknowledged the severity of the problem in Greece’s schools the government has recently increased the number of psychologists and social workers in the school environment.
“From about 360 permanent staff five years ago, the number has now reached nearly 4,800, and it will continue to grow, with around 2,000 temporary staff hired each year. We will find ways to provide psychological support to any child or family in need,” the minister added.
