AMERICA/BOLIVIA - Formation on values to combat violence and bullying

Monday, 16 June 2014

Cochabamba (Agenzia Fides) - "The formation of students based on values is a priority for the Catholic Church", concluded the teachers of Catholic schools gathered at a national Meeting in Cochabamba on June 13.
"The initiative to speak on this issue came from students, parents and members of civil society" said the Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Education, Limbert Ayarde in a note sent to Fides,.
"Today we live in moral relativism, idolatry of money and selfishness", said another participant at the Meeting, the President of the Bolivian Catholic education, Raquel Reynolds. For her, one of the major challenges that formators have to face at the moment is to stop violence. "Attacks begin in school classrooms and then in society", she added, citing the high rate of femicides that are counted in Cochabamba.
Among the conclusions of the meeting: "Education must be born in the family and parents should reflect on their priorities; they often give priority to what is only the material and economic aspect, to the detriment of interpersonal relationships and communication within their own home".
In Bolivia bullying in schools has become a serious problem, to the point of asking for the intervention of various institutions of Bolivian society with commissions or regulations to stop this phenomenon. According to data gathered by Fides, about a year ago, many institutions were reporting that 5 out of 10 students in the schools were bullied or had suffered being bullied some time ago.
Last year, the NGO "Visión Mundial en Cochabamba", had reported 1,000 cases, but it is well known that the actual number is much higher than this figure.
Many "protagonists" of this phenomenon act as a result of family violence experienced within the walls of their home. A part of this phenomenon is also due to the imitation of teachers who still physically punish pupils. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 16/06/2014)


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