CCTVs in classrooms proposed to deter bullying
Sen. Win Gatchalian. —Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday said the government should consider installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in classrooms to prevent violence between students in public and private schools.
“That’s also a very good idea. In fact, we received suggestions that [the government] should really fund the installation of CCTVs in schools,” Gatchalian said in a press conference.
He noted that some schools had actually placed security cameras within their premises, but these were mostly provided by local governments.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate committee on basic education, made the remarks a day before a scheduled inquiry into a spate of violent incidents involving students, including the death of a 14-year-old girl who was stabbed dead by her classmate inside their school in Parañaque City.
READ: Grade 8 student stabs to death classmate in Parañaque City
He noted that after this, there was a viral video of a young female student who was physically attacked by two other girls inside a classroom.
The senator said these incidents should not have happened if school officials had strictly implemented the antibullying policy.
Double whammy
“Bullying has become more violent,” Gatchalian lamented. “The victims were not only bullied, but their videos were even uploaded [in the internet] to shame them.”
“It’s very concerning and it’s happening in our schools,” he added.
According to Gatchalian, the Senate inquiry will focus on the current policies of the Department of Education and other academic institutions in addressing the problem of school violence.
He said the school officials and parents of students involved in such incidents should be told they could face civil suits.
“We will conduct a hearing to know what the government should do and what the government is doing, and what our schools, the principals and the parents are doing as well,” he added.
“What are the policies of the schools in terms of preventing bullying? We also need to understand why bullying is happening rampantly in our country,” Gatchalian said.
