TABUK CITY – Values formation is the main purpose of intensifying the integration of anti-bullying in all school grade levels. At this point, it should be inculcated to every single student enrolled in a particular school, thus mandating all teachers, whether adviser or not, to take time to include it in their subject matter.
In order to prevent students from possible involvement in violence brought about by bullying, Republic Act No. 10627 or more popularly known as the “Anti Bullying Act of 2013”, should be intensively taught, especially to all the incoming grade seven.
Following an incident of stabbing which took the life of a grade 9 student of Tabuk City National High School, Mildred Cabay, newly installed principal of Tabuk City National High School (TCNHS) ordered all teachers not to rely on the values teacher and guidance department to shoulder the responsibility of raising awareness on bullying, the concept and its forms. She added that each subject teacher must find time to include in their lecture the negative effects of bullying.
“We must remember that each of our student bears the name of TCHNS everywhere they go so every time they get into trouble, the name of our school will be dragged,” Cabay explained. She added that all students who step inside the school have common purpose, that is, to learn; that is why when they step outside the campus, they should apply what they learned inside the school in their daily endeavor and this will always reflect on the mentor of the students.
To ensure that every teacher is cooperating in the prevention of bullying inside the school and its premises, Cabay told her administrative staff and all head teachers to strictly monitor all their subordinate teachers on their compliance with her order of integrating the Law on Anti-Bullying in their lessons.
She also mandates every classroom adviser to strictly keep an eye on every student through a monitoring sheet to be displayed inside their classroom at all times in order to assure that all students are always accounted for. The purpose of this scheme is to spare the school and the adviser possible liability in case an untoward incident happens to a student is not in the classroom during a particular class hour. In addition to this, she also instructed school guards to prevent student in going outside the campus without any valid reasons when classes are on-going. There should also be a close coordination with authorities to ensure immediate response in case an untoward incident occurs inside the school.
Another way to lessen cases of bullying inside the school is to encourage every student to actively participate in all school activities, including and recreation, sports competitions, literary festivals or any school program that may enhance the educational growth of a learner.
TCNHS school head Mildred Cabay is very positive that with the strict compliance to all school policies regarding anti-bullying, it will greatly help in preventing violence among students brought about by bullying.
Tabuk City’s police records show that there were less than 10 cases of reported incidents wherein students of Kalinga’s biggest school, the TCNHS, were involved, including the stabbing to death of a grade 9 student of the school after he bullied an out-of -school youth on a nearby park. Another case of a shooting incident nearly took the life of another student when the father of another student whom he had a fist fight shot him to avenge his son who was bullied by the victim.
Tabuk City Police Office also confirmed that many of TCNHS students are involved in petty crimes and youth trouble. Based on their records, they often encounter TCNHS students staying inside the internet cafes, parks and other places outside school during class hours. They would pick up them up and send them back to their school
By Jesse Maguiya
