Schools tackle aggression

Sunil Mane, 15, still remembers the feeling of extreme anger he experienced every time a group of boys in his class bullied him. “Last year, they used to tease me almost every day.

Sunil Mane, 15, still remembers the feeling of extreme anger he experienced every time a group of boys in his class bullied him. “Last year, they used to tease me almost every day. We frequently ended up fighting and I would often get hurt,” said Mane, a Class 10 student at Kamla High School in Khar.

HT Image

On Saturday, Mane’s school and four other city schools began a pilot project to prevent incidents of bullying, aggression and violence among students. The workshops, to be conducted by psychiatrist Harish Shetty, will use methods like role-play, discussions and interventions to curb aggression in children.

Rekha Jagasia, principal of Kamla High School said that Mane’s case highlighted the need for such an initiative. “The matter reached a point where Mane’s father thought of changing his school. We had to counsel both Mane and students who were picking on him,” said Jagasia.

“The teacher’s experience with the child will be examined for developing interventions. The training will also look at improving interaction between teachers and children,” said Dr Shetty.

“Increased pace of life, lack of time to play and less interaction between adults and children are among the reasons for rising aggression among adolescents,” said Dr Shetty.

The rise in destructive tendencies among children has sometimes caused damage to school property, said authorities. “Children have destroyed toilet doors and broken blackboards. We should know whether they do it for fun or to release frustration,” said Sangeeta Doultani Shetty, principal, MKN Bhatia High School, Kandivli, which has also signed up for the workshops.