That bullying in schools is as common as ragging once was in colleges, and that both have devastating consequences sometimes, has always been known. But while most colleges and universities have banned ragging in their institutions, it may perhaps not be possible to 'ban' school bullies because they are too young to even understand the 'ban'. Schools are, however, required to appoint counsellors to help troubled children - both bullies and the bullied. It has taken the tragic suicide of a 14-year-old, Raunak, for parents and schools alike to recognise the need to have another 'guideline' in place. It's time the schools pay heed to the dangers within. Will schools do it at least now?
While the focus has always been on ragging in colleges where seniors often choose to “welcome” their juniors with some form or the other of it, sometimes with serious consequences, the bullying that children in schools too encounter has rarely been recognised or taken seriously.
It has taken the recent suicide of a class IX student of the elite Baldwin Boys’ High School, Raunak Banerjee, allegedly due to constant bullying by another student in his school van, for the authorities to wake up and take note that the problem is real and needs to be dealt with in the city's schools as well.
“Colleges now have anti -ragging committees. But in schools there are no such bodies to help children, who may be the targets of bullying. It is generally seen in school vans, on playgrounds, in school laboratories and so on. The death of a student from one of the elite schools of the city is definitely an eye- opener for both schools and parents,” said a representative of a private school. Many others closely associated with city schools too acknowledge that bullying is not an uncommon problem, but admit it is still largely unaddressed.
Read | Guest column: Students being bullied should speak up
Going by Mr. D Shashikumar, director of Bain Centre, an educational research centre, bullying is commonly seen in most secondary and higher secondary schools of the city. “It is very common. But sometimes children, who are sensitive, may find it hard to bear and take an extreme step. Parents and teachers must monitor children of this age group closely. That is the only solution,” he suggested.
A city counsellor, Nagasimha G Rao , who is part of the Child Rights Trust, says that while bullying is quite common in most schools, not many have appointed counsellors to help children deal with it. “We need to provide counselling support to the victims. All schools must have counsellors to help children who may be troubled by it,” he emphasised.
Ask officials of the state education department and they too put the onus on schools, which, they regret, have not not taken the issue seriously enough to follow the detailed guidelines issued by the various boards on dealing with bullying of students. “Unfortunately, the guidelines issued are not followed and as a result the children, who are targeted, get no help. We will look into this issue at the earliest,” assured an officer.
Bullying is a major problem in many city schools. Even on Monday, the Rehabilitation and Anti- Suicide Forum (RASF), an umbrella body of child counsellors, counselled two students , who were bullied in their respective schools. Mr. Nagasimha G Rao of Child Rights Trust, who facilitated the counselling, said one of the students bullied was handicapped and the other was bullied by his classmates over an issue related to a pen.
Raunak’s note: Punish the bully!
Fourteen-year-old Raunak Banerjee plunged to his death from the 10th floor of his apartment complex after he was bullied by an unidentified boy in his school van while returning home, according to the complaint filed by his father, Chandrajoy Banerjee with the J P Nagar Police Wednesday last. Raunak, who was in class IX , was a student of the school since class II. He usually left home for school around 7 am by a private van and returned around 4.15 pm.
Raunak Banerjee with his father in happier times.
The distraught father said in his complaint that he received a call at 4.48 pm from one of his neighbours, telling him that his son was critically injured and had been taken to the Sagar Hospital in Kumaraswamy Layout. “I reached Sagar Hospital around 5.30 pm and was informed by the emergency ward doctor that my son had passed away. The police came a little later and began investigation,” he recounted.
Mr Banerjee said he was told by his wife that Raunak fell from the 10th floor of their apartment complex at around 4.25 pm and neighbours helped take him to hospital. “The doctors there told her he was brought dead. A suicide note was recovered from my son’s book inside his school bag in which he wrote that he was being bullied by an unnamed boy in the school van. In my opinion, these incidents depressed him and ultimately made him take the drastic step. I request you to take necessary action against the unnamed boy,” he appealed to the police.
The JP Nagar police, who have registered a case under section 306 of the IPC (abetment to suicide), have mentioned in the FIR that Raunak had complained in the note that other boys in the van did not support him while he was being bullied and this had led him to take the extreme step.
Driver’s version
According to the driver of the school van, no incident of bullying took place inside the van. He said that Raunak Banerjee was normal on June 29, the day he committed suicide. The driver who has been picking and dropping Raunak Banerjee for the last five years said that even on that day, while getting down in front of his apartment, Raunak had said bye uncle.
