The Central Board of Directors of Public Centers has opened the box of thrones: the directors are alone in cases of school bullying. Three directors explained yesterday to the Parliament's Education Committee that the Unit for Attention and Support to Students in Situations of Violence (USAV), the main tool created to deal with these cases, is limited to "taking note of ” and “has not solved any cases”. In view of the lack of clarity of the protocols, measures cannot be applied to the aggressor and it is the victims who end up leaving the center, according to the directors.
In view of these accusations, the department has reacted calmly. "We have heard" these statements and "we believe that the opinion is constructive and will help us improve the USAV", an instrument that "we must continue to strengthen and deploy with more resources". They add that the future of the unit requires working with the management teams on how this unit intervenes and what support is provided to students in situations of violence, which is the highest priority of Education.
Robert Velàsquez, director of the Miquel Crusafont institute in Sabadell, said that since the USAV came into operation in 2022, "he has written down many things", but nothing more. He cited as an example of alleged inaction the wrong center in an investigated case. "It's bureaucracy and bureaucracy" when what is needed are more resources and external specialists to address harassment.
The USAV is made up of psychologists, pedagogues, social educators and lawyers, among others. It takes calls from students and the rest of the educational community by phone, e-mail or WhatsApp and aims to accompany the center in dealing with cases of harassment.
In October, Education reported that since 2021, 3,039 cases have been dealt with, of which, according to the department, 18% were reported to the Mossos and 20% to the DGAIA.
The principals' representative insisted on the fact that although the anti-violence protocols are unified into one, there are 31 different protocols in schools for various topics. These are "confusing and convoluted" and "do not give clear instructions".
In harassment, "the line of action is so diffuse that you cannot apply measures against the aggressor", Velàsquez maintained. In the end, the victims "very often end up changing centers".
Opening the protocol is not the solution. To resolve a conflict, the victim, the aggressor and the families must be taken care of, with "specialized help" and "not with a teacher with a few hours rescued" from other tasks. He also criticized that the Coexistence Coordinators (Cocove) "do not provide the scope because they do not have specific coordination hours".
The director of the Marta Mata Institute in Salou (Tarragonès), M. Carmen Moreno, reiterated the request for "more guidance hours", because "we have the same ones as 20 years ago and society has changed". And he recalled that the figure of social integration technicians (TIS), who are becoming essential in cases of harassment and mental health, end their contract in March in many centers.
Regarding the role of families, he said that "if they stand by us, the bullying stops", but "if they are reluctant to accept that their child is an aggressor, it is very difficult".
The director of the Joan Sallarés high school in Sabadell (Vallès Occidental), Francisco Salmerón, expressed the helplessness in which the teachers are in front of students and families, and that they do not find the support of the ministry. Now, "it seems that parents are always right".
