Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – According to NRW School Minister Dorothee Feller, the state government takes the problem of violence in schools seriously and is sensitized. “Violence has no place in our schools,” the CDU politician clarified on Wednesday in the state parliament in Düsseldorf. But she countered the impression that violence in schools had got the upper hand. That is not true – it requires a differentiated view, Feller warned.
According to a nationwide survey of school administrations, two thirds of the schools surveyed had experienced psychological violence such as insults, threats or harassment over the past five years. A third reported that teachers were victims of cyberbullying, i.e. defamation on the internet. In another third of the schools there were even violent physical attacks on teaching staff or school management. The survey commissioned by the teachers’ union VBE says nothing about exactly how many incidents there were.
Feller emphasized that the state government is committed to the protection and safety of employees. “No one has to put up with abuse and violent behavior in the service of the common good.” Even before the survey, measures were taken to protect against violence, especially in the preventive area – for example with an anti-bullying project.