Wu Chia-ku (於家穀), principal of Taoyuan’s Bade Junior High School, was suspended yesterday for allegedly turning a blind eye to bullying on campus.
While Taoyuan County Commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) announced Wu Chia-ku was suspended pending investigation, a provisional faculty review committee called by the county government’s Department of Education yesterday afternoon ruled that Wu Chia-ku would be transferred from her job.
After further investigation, another meeting will be called within a week to decide whether Wu Chia-ku should be relieved of her duties as principal, the department said.
Meanwhile, the resignation of the director of the school’s Student Affairs Office, Chiu Chien-hsiang (邱建祥), was approved yesterday.
ALLEGATIONS
The moves came after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) told a legislative committee meeting on Monday that about 60 teachers at the school had launched a petition drive to oust Yu for allegedly ignoring students’ name-calling and threats against teachers.
Lo said some students had taken nude photographs of their classmates against their victims’ will, brought watermelon knives to school, threatened teachers who stopped them from smoking on campus and even identified themselves as gang members and threatened to shoot teachers.
SURPRISE VISIT
Lo’s revelation led Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) to pay a visit to the school yesterday.
In a speech to the faculty and students, Wu Ching-ji urged schools nationwide to make extra efforts to help students understand the legal ramifications of bullying their peers and teachers.
The ministry recently convened an emergency meeting of directors of educational bureaus to stress the seriousness of bullying at schools, he said, adding that he would have the police intervene if gang members were involved in bullying on school grounds.
Wu Ching-ji reminded teachers that it was more important to teach students how to get along with other people than to help them get into a good high school or university.
He also called on school administrators and teachers to try to teach students — both in class and during school gatherings — the importance of protecting and respecting others.
AWARD IN QUESTION
Bade Junior High School won the Ministry of Education’s Friendly Campus Award in 2008 and was chosen by Taoyuan County Government as a model example of a school that built students’ characters.
Vice Minister of Education Wu Tsai-shun (吳財順) said the ministry might now recall the 2008 award.
The director of the county’s Department of Education, Wu Lin-hui (吳林輝), promised to deal with Yu’s case according to regulations, even though he and Yu were classmates when pursuing their doctorates.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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