At Oizumi Elementary School attached to Tokyo Gakugei University in Nerima-ku, Tokyo, it was found that the homeroom teacher knew that the child was being bullied by his classmates, but did not take systematic action and the child was transferred, and the university decided to investigate the background of the bullying as a serious situation with an investigation committee.
According to Tokyo Gakugei University, at Oizumi Elementary School in Nerima Ward, a boy who was in the fifth grade at the time was bullied multiple times by his classmates last year.
The children complained multiple times that they were being bullied in the questionnaire, and the homeroom teacher said that each time they took care of the children and instructed the children who were allegedly bullied.
However, at first, there was no report to the management and no systematic response was taken, and according to the university and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, although the report was made to the management in December last year, the child was absent from school and transferred to another school in May due to bullying.
The elementary school reported the incident to the university in April, and the university reported the bullying to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in May, so an investigation committee will be set up to investigate the background and content of the bullying, the school's response, and consider measures to prevent recurrence.
Tokyo Gakugei University told NHK, "We are sorry that I was forced to transfer to another school because of bullying, and we would like to investigate when the bullying occurred and how the school responded."
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Nagaoka: "It is important to protect children who have been bullied"
At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Nagaoka stated, "In dealing with bullying, it is important to actively recognize bullying and to systematically detect and respond to bullying at an early stage, rather than having a single teacher and staff member hold it, and to thoroughly protect children and students who have been bullied, and I deeply regret this incident."
He then stated, "We have received reports from universities that they will establish a third-party investigation committee to investigate serious situations, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) will respond firmly by providing guidance and advice as necessary while receiving reports from universities."