In a statement received here on Friday, Soesatyo said that the values of the national ideology of Pancasila can develop and strengthen noble character in children and help them socialize well.
He made the statement in response to the 2021 and 2022 National Assessment Results released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, which showed that 24.4 percent of students in Indonesia had experienced various forms of bullying.
He also asked the ministry to evaluate the results of the assessment and classify the forms of bullying experienced by children, such as physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying.
That way, he explained, the ministry would be able to take the right handling and preventive measures to tackle the practice.
Related news: Child-friendly schools can help prevent bullying behaviors: ministry
Furthermore, he asked the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology to commit to jointly handling cases of bullying in Indonesia, especially those occurring in educational institutions.
He said that the commitment can be realized by taking concrete actions that are quick, accurate, and thorough and following up on every report of bullying, starting from assistance provision to victim protection.
"KPAI and the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry should investigate the causes of bullying so that the bullies can be given sanctions to create a deterrent effect or the right guidance to prevent them from doing the same act in the future," he added.
In addition, he asked security personnel and the police to be firm in taking action against all cases of violence, both physical and psychological, in line with the disciplinary rules that apply in the concerned school and not wait for the cases to go viral on social media first.
He also invited parents, teachers, and the community to jointly make efforts to prevent bullying in their surrounding environment and to create a child-friendly environment.
Related news: Family communication is key to preventing bullying behaviors: Ministry
Translator: Tri Meilani, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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