Rise in child abuse reports requires action

The young boy shows off the scars on his back from alleged abuse by his adoptive parents. [Photo/IC]

The number of reported incidents of child abuse in China is increasing at a worrying pace. In the latest incident, in Fangshan district, Beijing, some parents informed the police on Tuesday that their kids had been pricked with needles at a local kindergarten. Three teachers are being questioned by police. Comments:

Teaching is a respected profession, hence those who want to be a teacher should be prepared to devote themselves to their career as a role model. Otherwise, they are not supposed to apply for or take the job. Such being said, education departments at all levels have to make more proactive efforts to supervise and manage teachers, instead of implementing untimely measures after child abuse has been revealed.

nen.com.cn, June 9

It is better late than never to introduce measures to prevent child abuse. On the one hand, local authorities should increase financial support to kindergartens, non-compulsory as they are, for the well-being of all enrolled children. On the other, they have to do more than simply permit the establishment of private kindergartens, which also need proper management such as teacher blacklists, in order to root out unqualified ones. In particular, the names of teachers and kindergartens with bad records should be made public in a timely manner.

people.com.cn, June 11

The constant revelations of child abuse incidents in the country should serve as a wake-up call to all that more attention should be paid to childcare. The lack of moral ethics among abusive teachers is a serious problem, one that calls for concrete efforts such as raising pay to attract better teachers, more funds for preschool education, and better supervision to curb the repugnant trend.

Guangzhou Daily, June 11