Quang Ninh warns of school violence

Most recently, on the morning of September 5, a clip was circulated on social media recording a scene of a male student being surrounded and beaten by a group of more than a dozen teenagers right in front of the gate of the Vietnam - Korea College (Viet Hung Ward). The video shows the subjects, mostly wearing white uniforms, forcing the victim against the fence and repeatedly assaulting him.

A group of students in white shirts assaulted a classmate in front of the school gate. Photo cut from clip.

Some other people also drove motorbikes to support the group of attackers, making the situation more tense. Although the male student was repeatedly beaten and fell to the floor, no one around intervened, most just stood there filming the clip.

According to a quick report from the Vietnam - Korea College in Quang Ninh , the incident occurred at 7:30 a.m., when there were many parents and students passing by. Immediately after grasping the situation, the Student Affairs Department coordinated with the homeroom teacher and the Provincial Police to check and verify the identities of the students involved.

Mr. Nhu Dinh Tung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Viet Hung Ward, said that the initial cause was determined to be a love conflict. Two male junior high school students had a disagreement over a female student, which then led to a serious fight. The police then took the two students to the ward headquarters for questioning, and continued to verify other subjects involved in the assault to handle them according to regulations.

Police reconstructed the scene of a male student being beaten by his friends until he had a seizure in the middle of the street.

A few days earlier, on August 29, near the gate of Ha Long University (Vang Danh ward), a male student was blocked by a group of friends, brutally assaulted with helmets and hands and feet, causing the victim to have convulsions on the spot and had to be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. The Investigation Police Agency of Quang Ninh Province Police initiated a case and prosecuted the defendant Pham Quang L. (born in 2008) for the crime of "Disturbing public order".

Two consecutive incidents in less than a week have sounded the alarm about school violence in the province.

A representative of the Quang Ninh Department of Education and Training said the education sector is closely coordinating with the police and local authorities to handle the incident and strengthen preventive measures.

“We require educational institutions to review and grasp students’ psychology early on, not allowing small conflicts to accumulate into fights. Schools must closely coordinate with parents in managing and educating children, especially during adolescence, when they are easily impulsive and influenced by social networks,” the representative emphasized.

Education experts also warn that school violence not only causes physical and mental damage to victims, but also leaves long-term social consequences. Recent incidents show that a segment of students are not fully equipped with behavioral skills and conflict resolution through dialogue. Indifference and filming instead of preventing also reflect the issue of ethics and community responsibility that needs to be seriously addressed.

Currently, the authorities continue to collect documents and evidence to expand the investigation, and at the same time coordinate with schools and parents to strengthen education and prevent students from gathering, quarreling, and using violence to resolve conflicts.