More than 2,000 Nghe An students participate in the forum on preventing and combating school violence.

On the afternoon of May 17, at Huynh Thuc Khang High School, the Central Council of Young Pioneers, Tien Phong Newspaper in collaboration with the Department of Education and Training, Nghe An Provincial Youth Union organized the second "What I Want to Say" forum with the theme: Preventing school violence.

Delegates attending the Forum "What I Want to Say". Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Attending the forum were comrades: Nguyen Minh Triet - Secretary of the Central Youth Union - President of the Central Vietnam Student Association; Dang Hoa Nam, Director of the Department of Children, Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs; Journalist Le Xuan Son - Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong Newspaper; representatives of the Ministry of Education and Training, and a number of relevant ministries and branches.

On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Nguyen Thi Thu Huong - Member of the Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department; Thai Van Thanh - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Director of the Department of Education and Training.

The program also has the participation of Miss Vietnam, Runner-up, and actors as guests, directly interacting at the forum.

School violence is a painful problem.

In his opening speech, journalist Le Xuan Son - Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong Newspaper said: The forum "What I want to say" was organized with the theme "Preventing school violence"Because this is not only a "hot" issue but also a painful one today. That not only affects but also risks distorting the pedagogical environment, making going to school for many students no longer a joy but a fear. In some cases, students are pushed into extreme situations, committing regrettable thoughtless actions, bringing sadness, worry, even pain to parents, relatives, teachers, friends and the whole society.

Journalist Le Xuan Son - Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong Newspaper spoke at the program. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Therefore, the purpose of the forum is to create opportunities for students to dialogue, explain, present their problems and their views with leaders, managers, experts, famous people with influence in society, with teachers, parents and to hear from them useful insights and advice to help them overcome difficulties.

The active and proactive participation of the subjects, especially the students, is an opportunity for the relevant parties to identify and dissect the problem, and provide insights and solutions to contribute to preventing and combating school violence.

Secretary of the Central Youth Union Nguyen Minh Triet presented 1,000 children's books to students in Nghe An. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Nguyen Xuan An Viet - Deputy Director of the Department of Politics and Student Affairs, Ministry of Education and Training also said: In the 2021 - 2022 school year alone, there were 386 cases of school violence nationwide with 1,161 subjects involved, of which 935 students were involved.

In recent times, the education sector at all levels and educational institutions have been making efforts to implement many tasks and solutions, but in reality, there are still some places that have not paid due attention to the implementation process.

Among them, violations of teachers' ethics still occur, cultural behavior of students is not appropriate, ethics of some students are still limited, life skills education in some educational institutions is not up to standard, violence and quarrels appear on cyberspace leading to violence in real life.

The program organizers presented flowers to sponsors. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Equip yourself with skills to deal with school violence

The forum "What I Want to Say" had the participation of many education managers, psychological experts, artists and nearly 2,000 students from secondary and high schools in Vinh city.

In this forum, guests also shared many stories about school violence from their own reality.

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of Nghe An Department of Education and Training spoke at the program. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Miss Vietnam 2022 Huynh Thi Thanh Thuy, who participated in the program, also recounted her journey from an isolated student to being crowned Miss Vietnam. Before that, Thanh Thuy was an active student with certain talents. However, since her junior high school years, Miss Thanh Thuy also encountered an unfortunate situation when performing at school and then received teasing from her friends.

Thanh Thuy said: "That unintentionally pushed me into a state of school violence, isolation, self-containment and not daring to express myself, not having a breakthrough in studying." Later, standing on the stage of the Miss Vietnam contest, thinking back to the memories of her junior high school years, she still felt heartbroken and haunted. From the above reality, Miss Thanh Thuy also hopes that students need to know how to create a certain motivation, and that schools need to care for students to have better development.

Miss Huynh Thi Thanh Thuy shares her personal story at the program. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

The opinions at the forum also show that school violence can happen at any time with many small causes such as verbal conflicts and uncontrolled behavior. Sharing about the thoughts of school-age children, some students from Huynh Thuc Khang High School also admitted that during their junior high school years, due to lack of understanding, they formed groups and isolated their friends.

Student Tran Ngo Phuong Anh - Le Loi Secondary School also asked a question expressing her concern about how to handle the situation if she is isolated by her classmates, such as not being allowed to participate in the common chat group in class.

Vinh city students participated in asking questions at the program. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

Answering questions from students, Director of the Department of Children Dang Hoa Nam also proposed solutions for students in similar situations, including calling 111 - the National Child Protection Hotline for advice and support. In the long term, students will equip themselves with skills to solve problems in real life as well as in cyberspace.

Mr. Dang Hoa Nam also acknowledged: School violence is not new but never old. It affects the physical, psychological, and moral well-being of students, teachers, and social morality. Therefore, the responsibility to prevent and reduce school violence is not only the responsibility of the Education sector alone, and it is necessary to strengthen moral education and life skills for students, strengthen school counseling work, and better resolve the relationship between family, school, and society.

Speaking at the forum, Director of the Department of Education and Training Thai Van Thanh highly appreciated the significance of the program. The opinions of experts and the exchanges and sharing of students at the "What I Want to Say" Forum this time have helped the education sector have more positive and synchronous solutions to minimize incidents related to school violence.

The head of the education sector also shared about the psychology of school age and at this stage, students always want to assert themselves, assert their ego towards friends, parents and even teachers. However, besides that, he also hopes that students do not assert their position based on physical strength but need to form a sense of helping and supporting each other to live together with those around them, starting from the love and altruism of each person: Life will be truly meaningful if they not only know how to live for themselves but also know how to help others, especially the unfortunate and weak. A truly strong person is not only based on self-strength but also on how to behave with those around them.

Actors Quang Anh and Bao Han share at the show. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

On this occasion, Secretary of the Central Youth Union, President of the Central Vietnam Student Association Nguyen Minh Triet presented 1,000 children's books of the Central Youth Union Secretariat; Head of the Central Youth Union's Children's Affairs Committee, Permanent Vice President of the Central Youth Union Council presented gifts from Kim Dong Publishing House to 7 secondary schools whose students attended the forum. Representatives of the Diamond Journey Group presented gifts to students and teachers of Nghe An province; Tien Phong Joint Stock Company presented 20 gifts to students with difficult circumstances who have excelled in their studies at Huynh Thuc Khang High School./.