High Court orders inclusion of complaint box rule in draft anti-bullying policy

The High Court has ordered the government to include a guideline on keeping complaint box at educational institutions in the draft policy to prevent bullying.

It has also ordered inclusion of rules to raise awareness among students to encourage them to submit complaints over discourteous and indecent behaviour, annoyance and intimidation.

The bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader passed the orders when the draft policy formulated and recently submitted by a government committee was placed in court on Wednesday.

The court asked the government to update it within Oct 22 about the progress in finalising the policy.

The court ordered the formation of the committee to draft the anti-bullying policy to prevent students from taking their own lives in December last year after the death of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College student Aritry Adhikary by suicide.

One of the judges on Wednesday said complaint box is necessary at the institutions because many students hide their complaint from guardians and teachers out of fear and shame.

Governing bodies of the institutions will be tasked with investigating the complaints put in the box and taking action.

A committee can be formed with a high-ranking official from the district authorities to investigate complaints against members of the governing bodies, the court said.

The draft policy has categorised bullying as physical, social, and verbal or psychological.

Hitting someone with something or beating them up, spitting on them, and breaking something after snatching it away are considered physical bullying.

The draft policy has mentioned poking fun at someone, calling them names, using abusive language and threatening others as verbal bullying.

If a student severs relations with a peer over social status, religious identity or arrogance out of family identity, he or she will be identified as a social bully under the policy.

Spreading rumours about someone and insulting someone in public also fall under this category in the policy.

School authorities will have to arrange counselling for both the bullies and their victims once the policy is passed.