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July 7, 2019
UNESCO and G7 Countries Raise the Alarm about Bullying, Join Forces against Violence in Education.
Photo: Concrete staircase, UNESCO building, Paris, France. Designed in 1958 by Marcel Breuer & Pier Luigi Nervi. Image Credit: David Crowley.
Paris, 04 July, 2019 — During their meeting in France, the Education Ministers of the G7 countries, with the participation of the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, adopted a declaration to “unite against bullying in all of its forms, proclaim respect as a fundamental principle for all, and help ensure that our schools are safe and welcoming for all students.”
G7, or the Group of Seven, is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries, with the seven largest IMF-described advanced economies in the world, represent 58% of the global net wealth.
“Bullying is unacceptable and is getting even worse. UNESCO is committed to combat this educational scourge, which costs lives, ruins childhoods, and jeopardizes the future. We have big data and practical guidelines in place. We now must intensify efforts with all Member States, including G7 countries, to end this plague,” said the Director-General of UNESCO during the ministerial meeting.
As the United Nations’ lead agency for education, UNESCO works to measure and assess the prevalence and many forms of bullying and its impact. UNESCO built a global indicator to compare situation among countries and is committed to helping strengthen legislation, train, and support teachers in the fight against school violence and bullying.
UNESCO welcomed the G7 declaration and called on all countries to intensify efforts against bullying and violence in schools. Bullying takes place in all states and affects many children and young people. According to the recent UNESCO report, “Behind the Numbers: Ending School Violence and Bullying,” almost one in three students worldwide (32%) has been bullied by their peers at school at least once in the last month. With the growing presence of online social networking platforms, cyber-bullying has extended the scope of bullying. Bullying, whether psychological, physical or sexual, including online, is a severe issue and a global threat to quality education and self-confidence, UNESCO said.
According to UNESCO, several factors contribute to effective national responses, including political leadership, the collaboration between the education sector and other sectors, evidence-based approach, and training for teachers.
Meanwhile, UNESCO has joined the French proposal to organize an international conference in Paris on this issue. UNESCO will also propose to its Member States the adoption of an international anti-bullying day.
• In a related development in India, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified “Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions.” These regulations are mandatory for all higher educational institutions in the country.
UGC has written a letter to the Vice-Chancellors of all Universities. It has warned, “Any violation of UGC Regulations or failure to suitably punish the perpetrators of ragging, will attract punitive action under the UGC Act.”
Meanwhile, on 23 July 2019, UGC issued a Public Notice listing 23 “fake,” “self-styled” universities that are “functioning in various parts of the country in contravention of the UGC Act.”
|GlobalGiants.Com|
“Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware.”
— Proverbs of Solomon 19:25. King James Version.
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 9:53 AM | Link to this Post