Gwangju Office of Education to Monitor School Violence Continuously with 'Self-Diagnosis App'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education has prepared practical measures to prevent and eradicate school violence.

On the 4th, the Gwangju Office of Education announced that it conducted an urgent inspection of recent school violence incidents and the status of school violence prevention education and response at various schools, and decided to develop and utilize a ‘Student Life Self-Diagnosis App.’

Through the app, they plan to continuously monitor students' difficulties in school life and whether they have been victims of school violence.

Each student will access the ‘Student Life Self-Diagnosis App’ every 1 to 2 weeks and answer questions related to school violence, suicide risk, and other topics. Individual schools will use the app to detect students' difficulties early.

Based on the information obtained through the app, it is expected that prompt counseling support and immediate measures will enable active, student-centered resolution of issues.

Additionally, a school violence prevention and detection system centered on peer friends and student councils will be established, and existing various reporting systems (117 hotline, text messages, email, secret bulletin boards, suggestion boxes, etc.) will be actively utilized.

In particular, campaigns will be conducted on themes such as ▲‘School violence can be resolved if reported early’ ▲‘Bystanders can also become perpetrators of school violence’ ▲‘Pranks can also be considered school violence’ to raise individual students’ sensitivity to school violence.

To increase parents’ and the local community’s interest in preventing school violence and to enhance early recognition and detection capabilities, ‘School Violence Prevention Card News’ and ‘School Violence Sign Detection Checklists’ will be provided via mobile.

Public service advertising educational content from local broadcasting stations and newspapers will be used to actively guide signs of victim and perpetrator students of school violence.

Along with this, a social atmosphere and consensus will be formed that preventing and resolving school violence is possible only when schools (education offices), families, and local communities all work and think together.

To consider ways to eradicate school violence with the local community and find more effective solutions, a ‘Discussion with Experts’ will be held.

Starting next month, sequential discussions will be held on topics such as ▲Enhancing early detection of school violence ▲Cooperation between parents and schools in initial responses to school violence ▲Strengthening local community response capabilities according to changing school violence trends ▲Creating peaceful school communities with schools, local communities, and related organizations. The eradication measures derived from these discussions will be reflected in policies.

Cooperation plans through information exchange on school violence cases among schools, education offices, police, and local governments will also be prepared.

Kim Hyungtae, Director of Democratic Citizenship Education at the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, said, “It is very important to prevent school violence from occurring, and we apologize to students, parents, and citizens as a series of school violence incidents have occurred in our region. Schools and the education office, as well as students, parents, and the local community, will work together to create a happy and safe school free of violence.”