Filenews 28 January 2025 - by Evangelia Sizopoulou
The Director of the Pedagogical Institute, Dr. Elena Hadjikakou, presented today the Action Plan for the new National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Violence at School 2024-2028, which is based on five pillars, which are the main axes on which individual actions move and focus.
The five pillars are:
- Ensuring a safe and inclusive school environment
- Training and empowering teachers and parents/guardians to prevent and manage school violence
- Educating and empowering children to prevent and manage school violence
- Mechanisms for monitoring and implementing policies and recording phenomena of violence
- Creating synergies with other actors
The aim of the National Strategy is to prevent and tackle the phenomenon of school violence and delinquency through the creation of a safe school climate, which actively promotes a culture of inclusion and cultivation of social skills. The adoption of the holistic approach ensures the empowerment and active participation of all stakeholders in preventing and dealing with incidents of violence in schools.
As Dr. Hadjikakou said, the National Strategy is an integrated policy framework, scientifically substantiated, that will make the National Strategy viable and effective.
It is recalled that the text and Action Plan of the National Strategy were approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2024.
On her part, the Minister of Education, Athena Michaelidou, praised the importance of strategic planning in achieving the highest priority set by the Ministry for its promotion. He stressed that the pillars ensure the creation of synergies with governmental and non-governmental bodies, and define the mechanisms for monitoring and implementing the relevant policies, actions necessary for the implementation and success of the actions.
Legislation that was dormant was also in place
Moreover, the Ministry of Education informed that as of August 1, 2024, the date on which the Prevention and Handling of School Violence Law of 2020 entered into force, following the adoption of amendments by the Plenary of the Parliament, it has proceeded to promote specific actions for the implementation of its provisions, either at the level of the Ministry or at the level of the school unit.
Specifically, at Ministry level, all the Committees provided for by law have been established and have held meetings: the National Advisory Committee on School Violence Issues, the Safe School Coordinating Committee (CPC) and the Safe School Group (OAS). All Committees are composed of representatives of the competent Directorates and Services of the Ministry of Education. It is also noted that representatives of the co-competent Ministries of Justice and Public Order and Health, the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare, as well as two academics participate in the National Advisory Committee.
In the context of their meetings, the Committees have developed their working framework, on the basis of which it can be briefly stated that actions are in progress such as:
- Development of a targeted Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on violence and delinquency
- Information and training of all stakeholders and partners of the Ministry of Education (Ministry of Education, School Directors, Members of the Health Education and Prevention of School Violence Committees, Educational Organizations, Confederations of Parents of Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education, PSEM)
- Mapping of the policies/circulars/protocols of the Ministry of Education, which schools follow on issues of violence and delinquency, with the aim of creating a Guide to facilitate the work of schools
- Creation of an electronic tool for recording incidents of violence by schools, with the aim of recording and evaluating the phenomenon of school violence, as well as forming an overall picture of incidents occurring in schools
- Mapping and evaluation of programs offered by individuals, organizations and institutions to students on issues related to violence and delinquency.
At the same time, instructions have been given by the Ministry at the beginning of the school year to take the necessary steps to comply with the obligations arising from them under the legislation. Specifically, instructions were given for the establishment of the Committee for Health Education and Prevention of School Violence, as well as for the elaboration of the school's Action Plan, which aims to prevent and deal with school violence, within the framework of the Single School Unit Improvement Plan.
