Break vicious cycle of hooliganism in schools

V.K. Chin, The Star Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

With all the latest reports on student hooliganism, it may be a good time to have a thorough look at this unhealthy behavior displayed by some students in both residential and non- residential schools.

While certain quarters may wish to play down such anti-social activities of some students, it cannot be denied that bullying is as old as the education system itself.

There is a tendency for some pupils to group together for personal or other interests though some of them could gang up for mischievous purposes such as using violence against those who are not prepared to obey them.

Though most groups may be innocent, it is unfortunate that some of them have been used for criminal purposes such as extortion and blackmail against their fellow pupils.

Some of these bullies are prepared to use force on their victims and those who are not prepared to report such incidents usually will suffer in silence.

The teachers are well aware of such disciplinary problems though many of them will just look the other way unless an incident should get out of hand, such as a pupil being seriously hurt after being beaten up.

At the same time, it is also partly true to say that such hooliganism is nothing new and the only difference nowadays is that more such incidents are being reported to the Education Department or the police.

When such incidents are played up in the media, they become of public interest with various groups issuing statements or writing to the newspapers giving their views on such matters.

But it is in the residential schools that the problems seem to be more serious as the victims have to live with their tormentors 24 hours a day during term time.

If they dare to resist or report their sufferings to the school authorities, they are likely to be beaten up or face other forms of physical abuse more regularly and there is no escape as they have to live within the premises.

All that the victims can do is to hope for the school staff to go to their rescue and to end the activities of the bullies. These bullies are cowards by nature and have to depend on a support group to make them feel superior.

It is also a perpetuating system in that the head of a gang, who is invariably a senior, will hand over his position to a junior once he has completed his studies.

New blood will be recruited by the successor who will just carry on after his predecessor has left the scene.

So the ordeal for the victims continues though the group will target new victims for their amusement.

It is this vicious cycle that the department and teachers must break up in order to end such activities, which can be quite vicious based on the injuries inflicted on the victims.

Those in charge of residential schools must be constantly on their toes to monitor the activities of the pupils so that such bullying would be reduced to a minimum.