Turnbull urges school principals to tackle bullying

Turnbull urges school principals to tackle bullying

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. (Xinhua/Ting Shen/IANS)

Canberra, March 1 (IANS) Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday wrote to all school principals in the country urging them to join the fight against bullying.In the letter, Turnbull said he was "profoundly affected by the death of teenager Dolly Everett and implored the principals to launch anti-bullying education programmes, reports Xinhua news agency.Everett, 14, committed suicide in January after being subjected to relentless cyber-bullying and harassment.Turnbull suggested a number of ways in the letter to educate children about bullying, including conferences where children promise to "make their school free from bullying"."While school and educators have a key role to play in tackling bullying, we also know the important role parents and families play," he wrote.Turnbull asked every principal in Australia to register for a National Day of Action Against Bullying on March 16."This is our chance to stand together. Together we can reduce the incidence of bullying, whether inside the school or online, and eliminate it wherever we can," he wrote.It also asked participating schools to "imagine a world free from bullying" and encourages students to share ideas about how to eradicate the behaviour.More than 2,300 schools with more than 1 million students have already registered for the action day.--IANSksk/vm

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