The Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, announced that all middle school students in France will have to follow this week an hour of awareness on “harassment and social networks”.
While the emotion is still strong a month after the suicide of Lindsay, a 13-year-old schoolgirl harassed by some of her classmates, the Minister of Education has announced that he wants to act on the subject of school bullying from this week.
He therefore asked the principals of the 7,000 colleges in the country to organize an hour in each class to raise awareness of harassment and the use of social networks, starting this week. ” This hour will be an opportunity to recall how the use of social networks can accentuate the phenomena of harassment. ” And “ to emphasize everyone’s responsibility in the use of these networks, underlined the minister.
I asked the principals of the 7000 colleges to organize from tomorrow and during the week an hour of awareness on harassment and the use of social networks. A moment of exchange and listening, for the 3.4 million students from 6th to 3rd.
— Pap Ndiaye (@PapNdiaye) June 11, 2023
Consultations are currently being conducted on the issue of harassment since Friday and until Monday, but the minister has decided to draw more quickly. It must be said that Pap Ndiaye is under strong political pressure on the subject, especially after his meeting with Lindsay’s mother, who had judged him “ insincere “. The Élysée had to get involved in the file and Brigitte Macron in turn received the bereaved mother and offered her to become “ ambassador” against bullying.
>> To read also: School phobia, bullying and cyberbullying: how to detect and fight them?
“Ipermanent improvisation »
But will the measures be enough? In any case, they do not convince many people. On the union side, the SNES-FSU, the first representative of secondary school teachers, wonders about ” efficiency “of events” organized overnight “. While the CGT Education asks the minister if he ” is not tired of permanent improvisation. »
Aren’t you tired of constant improvisation? 1 hour in a hurry rather than projects that could be thought out, built, effective, orchestrated by trained personnel… Time for emotion is rarely good advice. #missed opportunity https://t.co/oOnEJSY5tM
– CGT-Educ’action (@cgt_educ) June 11, 2023
On the political side, the rebellious deputy and former president of the FCPE parents’ union Rodrigo Arenas denounces ” a smoke screen “, recalling that harassment has been fought for years in schools, but that they lack resources and personnel, in particular psychologists. ” And Pap Ndiaye knows it very well “, annoys the deputy. ” It will still become a business for private companies because the State no longer wants to invest in the school “, he concludes.
Raising awareness of harassment and the use of social networks is already implemented regularly in establishments. On the other hand, we removed the professionals in the school environment who helped children to deal with bullying: doctors, school psychologists https://t.co/LzCkpBdEfN
— Rodrigo Arenas (@arenasrodrigo_) June 11, 2023
>> To read also: Bouncing back after school bullying