We are reviewing a series of programs to reduce bullying, violence and aggression in school. In the coming months, they will be analyzed and summarized in one. In six Sofia schools, we have upgraded the program “Violence is Powerlessness”, which was aimed at grades 8 and 9, but we aim to reach at least 100,000 students in over 1,000 schools. To this end, MES will create 28 working groups with coordinators, psychologists and pedagogical advisors in October. They, in turn, will begin working with specialists to acquire additional qualifications. This was announced by the Minister of Education and Science, Prof. Dr. Georgi Valchev, at a briefing after the regular government meeting on Wednesday.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev pointed out that more programs for the prevention of violence among young people are to be developed. A strategy for training educators in the structures of the Ministry of Interior is also planned. “We are preparing a new Law on Combating Antisocial Behavior of Minors and Juveniles. The current one dates back to the 1950s. Our ambition is to complete the project within a few weeks. Against this background, we have intensified online checks and have so far taken down thousands of publications. Work is also underway to create territorial structures to combat cybercrime,” Demerdzhiev noted.
According to him, it is impossible to restrict the use of social networks, as it could easily be circumvented.
According to Valchev, forms of self-realization must be provided to adolescents.
„In the coming months and years, the focus of the work of the Ministry of Education and Science will be to turn the family into an ally of the educational system. There is no other way for the school to cope with the serious problems. A program called “No Aggression for a Safe Educational Environment” has been created, which focuses on all problems related to manifestations of violence, both physical and verbal. Young people have become wandering atoms with phones in their hands, looking for likes and unable to find their place in society. Aggression has erupted at all levels, not only at an early age. It has taken over communication and political life. We all bear responsibility and with our behavior and appearances we can reverse the trend. To this end, about 1,500 psychologists work in preschool and school education, and over 800 pedagogical specialists support problem children and families,” the Minister of Education also said.