RESPONSIBILITY LIES BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES

CYBERSPACE can be as daunting as the universe or as restrictive as a
schoolyard. The problems arise when the smaller is allowed to invade
the larger. This happened last week when footage of aggressive
bullying at Xavier College, filmed late last year on a student's
mobile phone and distributed to others, made it into the wider
domain. It has since been seen on television and the internet. Xavier
has suspended five students, and the bullying allegations are being
investigated by the police.

This came two days after police came to the school to investigate
another incident: allegations that a year 11 student sold drugs on
the school grounds in February. Although one student was expelled and
three others suspended, police became involved only after the matter
was made public. Xavier has been widely criticised by parents,
students and anti-drug groups for failing to report the incident and,
instead, referring the students concerned for counselling.

There are two factors here. The first is the anomaly between
government schools, which are obliged to report all criminal matters
to the police, and private schools, which as independent entities,
are not. The second, by inference, is that private schools, in the
belief that handling such serious matters internally is discipline
enough, are putting themselves beyond the law. The crux is that all
schools have a responsibility not only to students, but to parents
who have every right to expect appropriate care and discipline. Drug
peddling on the streets is illegal and those caught pay the
consequence, as do the perpetrators of violence and other forms of
public humiliation. The same should apply behind school gates,
especially when those involved are young, vulnerable and susceptible.
Private schools should not leave the law in their own hands.