Packs of truant high school students in Sinuiju robbed younger students of money and clothes, sparking parental distress and teacher anxiety as schools feared collective punishment if incidents escalated during the politically sensitive Dec. 17 mourning period.
“Recently in Sinuiju, some high school students didn’t attend class and instead formed gangs that strutted around the street in a bloody mess after fighting other gangs, or calling over other students to beat them and take their valuables, and such incidents were frequent,” a Daily NK source in North Pyongan province said recently.
For example, high school students robbed a pair of second-year middle school students in an alleyway on Dec. 10, taking their pencil cases, new notebooks and 20,000 North Korean won ($2.76).
On Dec. 12, four high school students who were walking on the street were forcibly deprived of their outerwear and belts by a pack of about 10 other high school students. The gang beat the students and took their clothes after they initially refused their demands.
“These sorts of things were happening frequently in December,” the source said. “Most of the students who did these sorts of things said they were going to school, but then they didn’t. They formed gangs and went around engaging in gangster-like behavior, robbing younger or weaker students of their money and possessions.”
Schools unable to identify perpetrators as parents demanded action
Parents of young students were increasingly distressed. Some picked up their children from school or visited schools to demand that they take measures to deal with the problem.
However, schools were doing little as they had been unable to ascertain the identity of those students engaged in violence and theft, or where they went to school. As for onsite responses, homeroom teachers were telling students to avoid wandering around until late and to go home early.
Some schools worried that if these incidents became a big deal during the mourning period for late leader Kim Jong Il, the students responsible, and even the school, would come under fire and be held collectively responsible. In response, they were working hard to catch truant students.
“Homeroom teachers were more nervous than usual, closely working with parents to ensure students showed up at school,” the source said. “Because many students told their parents they were going to school but ran off on the way, both teachers and parents worried that a needless incident might occur.”
“During the mourning period for our lost leader, events like drinking parties and weddings are banned, and you have to be careful about even smiling,” the source said. “But with students — far from mourning — going around engaged in hooliganism, those who were responsible for them were really anxious.”
Even though incidents that occurred during the mourning period could blow up into serious political issues, students were unhesitatingly engaged in problematic behavior, with schools, teachers and parents worried as a result.
“If students got beaten, they should at least pretend to cry, but kids nowadays don’t even do that, so teachers and parents complain that they have no idea what to do,” the source said.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: dailynk.com
