School walks against bullying, highlights impacts on child development

To reduce the incidences of bullying among students, a Lagos-based school, Well Spring College, on Thursday held its maiden anti-bullying campaign involving the students, teachers, and parents.

The event, according to the Principal, Innocent Agofure, is to raise awareness about the dangers of bullying and its direct impacts on child development, family values, and social life.

He said: “Bullying doesn’t only take place in school. We have it at home, and in the larger society, and even on the internet.

“At Wellspring College, we are strongly against bullying, and it has yielded the desired results for us.”

In her presentation after the walk, the Head of the Counselling Unit, Education District VII, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Anike Bola-Lawal, highlighted the effects of bullying on child development.

Mrs Bola-Lawal explained that kids who are regularly targeted by bullies often suffer both emotionally and socially.

She said victims also tend to experience a wide range of emotions, and consequently, they may skip classes and resort to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain.

“Kids who are bullied often suffer academically, too. Bullied kids struggle to focus on their schoolwork,” she noted.

Ensuring safety in schools

Mrs Bola-Lawal said there is evidence linking the rates of aggressive behaviour and bullying behaviour are higher among boys than girls.

“However, some researchers argue that there is not a gender difference between boys and girls, but instead, the two groups use different forms of aggression,” she said.

She added that forms of bullying include physical, emotional, cyber, and sexual bullying.

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In his remarks, the former Head of Investigations and Enforcement at the Lagos State Safety Commission, Adeyinka Adebiyi, said the responsibility of the school management is to ensure that students, staff, visitors, and other stakeholders are kept safe.

Mr Adeyinka said safety should be a continuous planned process and an integral part of managing any school curriculum.

“Schools are expected to put in place clear safety policies, and understanding of the stakeholders involved, with health and safety, clear, plain with a good monitoring mechanism,” he said.

Collaboration

The Executive Director of Wellspring College, Ewere Akwukwaegbu, emphasised the need for stakeholders’ collaboration to create awareness about the dangers of bullying so that largely as a society we can also prevent it.

Ms Akwukwaegbu said the school has zero tolerance for bullying, which she noted goes beyond the school. She said the school has plans to continue the campaign.

“It is important to keep the message alive. It is not just in school, even in workplaces, but for us to learn. We have to recognise bullying when we see it,” she said.

“From the speakers, we have someone who works with the education system, and she spoke about the stance of the state. So these are the conversations we want to continue with. Even as a school, we would collaborate with the government to spread the message.”

Role of parents

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, one of the parents who is the Lead Faculty at Etiquette Poise and Protocol Resource Academy (EPPRA), Keji Oladimeji, said the initiative has been put in place in collaboration with EPPRA to groom the children and make them better individuals.

Mrs Oladimeji said it is easy to mould children before they become adults.

“If you mould children, to talk to people with kindness, using decorum to talk with people,” she said.

“The essence of the programme is to imbibe that spirit of friendship, and trust among each other, and then make the school safe to learn. And everyone is free to be themselves, no body shaming, no putting down on anybody, and everyone can have the high spirit to be productive in the school.”

A parent with two daughters in the school, Folashade Olusola-Aina, said she is delighted to join the students for the walk.

Mrs Olusola-Aina said from experience, “bullying isn’t a good thing, and that it is traumatising.”

“The walk is a call for people to see the implications of bullying. You should be a buddy, not a bully,” she said.

Another parent, Omolola Olajolo, Director of Business at EPPRA, underscored the neeed for parents to be friendly with their children.

“As parents, you should be friends with your children, as it will help their minds. When you are friendly with your child, they will be friendly to other children. It is also important to teach children how to speak up when bullied,” Mrs Olajolo said.