The case at the Jelgava Parlielupa Primary School, where a third-grade student used physical violence against a first-grader, has caused a wide resonance in society. Currently, school specialists are working with one family, while the other family has chosen a psychologist in Riga.
To reduce the level of violence in the educational institutions of the city, the council is discussing the installation of video cameras in all municipal schools, and more teachers may be involved during lessons and breaks to more quickly prevent potential conflicts, reports Zemgales reģionālā televīzija.
The conflict between two children at the Jelgava school occurred multiple times, with the latest incident recorded by a school surveillance camera.
The father of the injured girl, Ojars Princis, explained that the first incident occurred on November 5 of last year, resulting in his daughter sustaining a pelvic injury. The second case happened on January 14 — near the school lockers, the boy, according to him, kicked his daughter "in the back, hit her in the face and on the arms, beat and insulted her."
However, there is no evidence that the injury was sustained during the first conflict. Meanwhile, evaluating the video recordings, as well as the testimonies of the children and parents, the school is trying to resolve the escalated conflict.
The director of the Jelgava Parlielupa Primary School, Ilze Arbidane, stated:
"The situation was discussed with the children, as well as with other students who came from the club. We analyzed what happened and informed the parents. Support staff was involved."
The boy's family is in contact and cooperating, while the girl's parents have sought psychological services in Riga and want the third-grade student to stop attending this school.
The father of the injured girl questions: "Should this child be in school after these two incidents? Shouldn’t he be learning remotely and a decision be made immediately?"
Both the school and the council emphasize that the situation is still being reviewed and note that excluding the child from school is not a solution.
This case has prompted the Jelgava council to consider additional steps to ensure safety in schools.
The deputy chairman of the Jelgava council, Aigars Rublihs ("New Unity"), noted that "one of the things mentioned by the heads of educational institutions is that they would like the municipality to further support the installation and acquisition of surveillance cameras. There was a question that monitoring needs to be enhanced in classrooms, meaning that a team of teachers goes to classes and observes the learning process."
After the conflict at the school, children are reminded more often about internal safety rules, and during lessons and breaks, other school staff, in addition to teachers, are involved.
The school director noted that there were previously no surveillance cameras in the primary school locker room, but a camera has now been installed there.
The municipality promised to hold meetings with the heads of educational institutions once a month in the future to discuss solutions to similar situations.
