Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of Education Kyriakos Pierrakakis presented a series of measures to combat school violence and bullying at a public event held this morning at the 3rd Gymnasium of Polichni, in Thessaloniki.

The measures announced include, among others:

– The establishment of the stop-bullying.gov.gr platform for recording, managing, and monitoring incidents.
– Increasing the presence of social workers and psychologists in schools.
– Integration of active citizenship actions into the school curriculum.
– Implementation of a new school regulation.
– Reintroduction of the five-day suspension for justified and unjustified absences.
– Digitisation of attendance records.
– Simplification of procedures for changing school environment.
– Strict enforcement of rules regarding the use of mobile phones.

– The stop-bullying.gov.gr platform includes systems for recording and managing incidents. It is a platform for complaints from both parents and students, accessible with codes through the national school network. It includes descriptions of the type of abuse, whether physical, cyber, psychological, etc.

– After submitting a report, there is monitoring of how quickly the incident is addressed. Initially, the school handles the issue, but depending on the seriousness, a four-member committee of specialists at the secondary education directorate may intervene, and there is also a committee of specialists at the Ministry of Education.

– Minister Pierrakakis announced further reinforcement with an increase in the number of psychologists from 2,000 to 4,000, along with training for educators in the coming months.

– New school regulations will be fully implemented in September and must be signed by students’ parents.

Regarding the regulations:

– Attendance issues will be digitised, with parents having access to real-time information about student progress and absences via the e-parents application. Absence deletion at the end of the year will be prohibited, with exceptions such as medical reasons. The measure will be implemented in September.

– Unjustified absences exceeding 114 will not be tolerated. Parents will be able to justify absences for up to 2 days; for more, a medical certificate will be required.

– The option for a five-day suspension will be reintroduced. Teachers’ associations will be able to facilitate easier class changes, and bureaucracy for changing school environments will be reduced.

– If a student causes damage or vandalism, the cost will be billed to the student’s family.

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Regarding mobile phones:

Minister Pierrakakis noted that mobile phone use often accompanies more severe bullying incidents. Therefore, consequences will be imposed, such as a five-day suspension for recording instances of school violence. Immediate changes to the school environment will occur in cases of personal data leakage about students on the internet.

“Reducing incidents, increasing intensity

Speaking with students, Prime Minister initially noted that ‘bullying incidents existed in our own time. Back then, they were somewhat acceptable, part of adolescence, and we weren’t concerned about the trauma it could cause to a child. But now, we are troubled not only by the number of incidents but by the intensity of the violence with which assaults occur, which are not only physical but can also be cyber-bullying and psychological and ultimately, behind bullying lies intolerance for diversity.’

Mr. Mitsotakis urged students ‘to break the silence, and this concerns not only the victims but also the observers. It’s not brave to physically assault someone or to bully them for the choices they make. If the perpetrator feels disconnected, that’s the first step. If we find a way to isolate these behaviors and say that there are rules and boundaries that, when exceeded, have consequences.’

Pierakakis: The deadlock must be broken

‘We are here today to discuss a national issue, and therefore the solutions must be collective,’ said Education Minister Kyriakos Pierakakis, who noted that politics is not only a platform but requires a change in culture.

Especially with regards to the video presented, he said it had to be tough within the framework of the truth. ‘This is the deadlock we must break,’ he added.