Educational institutions are offered to develop rules for non-violent communication between teachers and parents
24 December 14:07
Educational Ombudsman Nadiya Leshchyk responded to the incident of beating a labor training teacher at Lyceum #6 in Vinnytsia and called on educational institutions to develop certain rules of non-violent communication between teachers and parents within their autonomy. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Educational Ombudsman, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to her, the most important thing to note is that it is unacceptable to try to resolve any misunderstandings and difficult situations with the use of any form of violence, and this applies to all participants in the educational process.
Nadiya Leshchyk expressed her support for the teacher and wished him a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, she stated, teachers are currently quite unprotected, in particular from possible aggression from parents.
What happened in the Vinnytsia lyceum
Last week, an incident took place at Vinnytsia Lyceum #6, during which the father of one of the students inflicted bodily harm on a labor training teacher on the school premises.
According to eyewitnesses, the conflict occurred because the teacher allegedly insulted the attacker’s daughter. The situation occurred in the sixth grade. The teacher said that he was teaching the brother of one of the students and that he was doing better than her. The student called her father and “twisted” everything. The man came, did not understand the situation and hit the teacher.
The police are establishing the circumstances of the incident. Based on the results of the initial investigative actions, investigators under the procedural guidance of the Vinnytsia Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern Region reclassified the incident from Article 125 to Part 1 of Article 296 (Hooliganism) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. on December 19, the offender was served a notice of suspicion of committing a criminal offense. He faces up to 5 years in prison.
What conclusions are advised to be drawn by educational institutions
This case only confirms that it is necessary to look for ways to strengthen security in educational institutions, including building secure communication between participants in the educational process. This is the opinion of Education Ombudsman Nadiya Leshchyk.
According to her, each educational institution can develop certain rules of non-violent communication between teachers and parents within its autonomy – rules of communication without violence, including, in particular, words of mutual support. These rules might even exclude direct contact between teachers and parents, allowing it only after a specific request. The rules could also specify specific hours and days for meetings between parents and teachers.
“Another important security aspect that needs to be regulated is access to educational institutions by other persons, including parents. Although parents should act in the best interests of their children, sometimes, as we see, parents themselves can pose a danger to a child in an educational institution. Currently, anyone can actually get into an educational institution. Parents should understand that teachers are responsible for the safety of their children during the educational process. Unimpeded access to educational institutions for everyone can be dangerous for children, especially during the war,” the Education Ombudsman noted.
She reminded that the first important steps to resolve the issue of security of access to educational institutions at the state level have already been taken. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the draft law No. 11543 on security in general secondary education institutions.
What security measures are proposed to be introduced?
The draft law proposes that educational institutions develop and approve rules for the stay of persons on the territory and premises of an educational institution.
In particular, the Law of Ukraine “On Complete General Secondary Education” is proposed to be supplemented with a new article stating that in order to create a safe educational environment, the heads of general secondary education institutions shall take a set of measures to prevent and/or prevent or stop harm to participants in the educational process to which they will belong:
– determining the rules for the stay of persons on the territory and premises of a general secondary education institution
– fencing the territory of a general secondary education institution;
– equipping a general secondary education institution with technical means of protecting an emergency call to the police.
It is also envisaged to make compliance with the rules of stay of persons on the territory and premises of a general secondary education institution mandatory, to determine the list of prohibitions on being (staying) on the territory and premises of the institution, as well as restrictions on persons involved in the protection of educational institutions.
