RIYADH — The Minister of Education launched the National Anti-Bullying Project on Tuesday. Education Minister Ahmad Al-Essa said the Kingdom is taking initiatives in child protection and development programs and projects. "The projects focus on early intervention to protect children from harmful behaviors that would have a negative effect on the child's development. Other directorates and ministries are also offering child protection programs such as the National Family Security Program under the Ministry of Civil Defense, Childhood National Committee and the United Nations Organization for Childhood in the Gulf Countries," said Al-Essa. He also said bullying can affect the students' grades and academic performance. "Victims of bullying can be affected psychologically and physically. There are numerous national and international scientific studies proving that bullying is a seriously damaging social phenomenon. Schools are responsible for combatting bullying," said Al-Essa. He added the ministry launched the National Anti-Violence Program last year and it is still running. "Schools have become trained and experienced in dealing with violence. It is the school's responsible to give the student a stable psychological, educational, social and familial life. Schools should be a safe educational environment for the students," said Al-Essa. He added the safer the students feel at school, the better their academic performance will be. "Bullying happens in elementary school, middle school and high school. It happens to boys and girls. By working together with families, schools can have early intervention strategies to combat bullying," said Al-Essa. Childhood National Committee General Secretary Wafaa Al-Salih said the National Anti-Bullying Program is a leading program in the Kingdom. "The Kingdom takes proactive steps in ensuring that children have a healthy development. The program will give schools a comprehensive training on how to deal with bullying. Schools and families must work together to give students a healthy environment," said Al-Salih.
