Quan Sơn High School students in Thanh Hóa Province join an extracurricular period about school violence prevention. — Photo courtesy of the Thanh Hóa Department of Education and Training

THANH HÓA — In northern Thanh Hóa Province, violence has been an alarming issue among students. Numerous videos of student altercations have been circulated on social media, causing concern among the community.

A report from the Thọ Sơn Junior Secondary School in Triệu Sơn District said that at 8am on March 18, a 15-year-old student used a knife to stab into another student’s side in their classroom.

The victim had serious injuries and was taken to the Thanh Hóa General Hospital. The reason for the stabbing was an argument during a physical education lesson.

In the middle of February this year, three clips were posted on the social network showing a female student being beaten by several other students on the ground. Another clip lasting 11 minutes showed the girl being beaten in a house.

She was repeatedly grabbed, stripped, and beaten in the clips. The attackers used profanity and continued the attack, despite the victim kneeling, screaming, crying and begging.

It is worth mentioning that the incident occurred in the presence of many other students, but no one intervened. They even cheered and filmed clips.

After the clip appeared on social networks, many people expressed their anger at the violent actions of those students.

An investigation by the Sầm Sơn City Police showed that the victim was a student of the Quảng Đại Junior Secondary School in Quảng Đại Commune.

At 11.30am on March 19, due to a conflict while taking photos for the year-end remembrance book, some 12th graders from the Đông Sơn High School and Nguyễn Mộng Tuân High School used motorbikes to chase and beat each other. One student was injured.

They are only three out of many school violence cases reported recently in Thanh Hóa Province.

The causes of the incidents all stem from very small things, such as small conflicts during studying periods or on social networks.

Many parents are quite concerned about the issue.

Trịnh Thị Lam, a mother, said she tells her children not to resolve conflicts with violent acts.

She wanted schools to have solutions to raise awareness for students and create a safe school environment.

Solutions

Nguyễn Thọ Bình, principal of the Thọ Sơn Junior Secondary School, said that after a male student used a knife to stab his classmate, the school suspended this student from going to school for a year.

The school asked teachers to care for the students to have a solution for conflicts in class.

Nguyễn Văn Cận, director of the Triệu Sơn District Department of Education and Training, said that to limit violence, schools must create a friendly, happy and positive educational environment for students to trust and share difficulties and problems.

Teachers must be close to students to understand each child's personality and relationships inside and outside the class, promptly detecting and supporting them to solve problems or new conflicts, avoiding the risk of school violence.

The department also asked schools to organise activities that insert education on school violence prevention to raise students' awareness.

The Quảng Tiến Junior Secondary School in Sầm Sơn City installed nearly 20 cameras around the school to limit violence cases in hidden corners.

It created a hotline connected with district police to prevent and resolve any case that appeared.

Nguyễn Sỹ Thuấn, principal of the Quảng Tiến Junior Secondary School, said that besides schools, parents should also keep a close watch on their children and prevent them from seeing violent films, photos and games.

They should give the children stories about good examples in life and the community so that they can learn from them.

Bùi Thị Thanh, deputy director of the Thanh Hóa Department of Education and Training, said that since the beginning of this school year, the department sent a document asking schools to have preventive measures for school violence.

The department organised training courses about school violence and sexual abuse prevention for teachers.

It asked schools to train students in social skills and closely work with students’ parents to manage them better. — VNS