About 6,931 children aged six to 17 in 173 public elementary and secondary schools were surveyed for a baseline study conducted by Plan International, Council for the Welfare of Children and the United Nations Children’s Fund on violence against children in public schools.

Shocking things were revealed as 64 per cent of female and 66 per cent of male public school students said that whether by their peers or by teachers and school staff, they have experienced being ridiculed or teased in school.

There have been cases of physical violence as 29 per cent of girls and 40 per cent of boys claimed to have experienced them.

There were incidents of children being ignored and no one speaking to them in school.

These incidents were not all as incidents like having things thrown at children, locking them in an enclosed space; pinching them and making them bear harsh sun were also often reported.

The worst was incidences of sexual violence committed against these children.

A commitment was made by the Department of Education after seeing these findings as an attempt to strengthen its Child-Friendly School Systems program.

But the findings reveal that not much was done despite guidelines being set to avoid these incidents.