‘Anti-bully’ CCTVs keep watch on Taguig schools

What parents and teachers might miss, the “multiscreen” principal’s office can hopefully catch.

The Taguig City office of the Department of Education (DepEd) said all 34 public schools in the city are now installed with closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs), under a P25-million anti-bullying program.

“The children know they’re being watched, so they’re now more disciplined,” said Remedios Antonio, principal of Signal Village Elementary School, where 24 cameras keep watch over a student population of around 9,200.

The number of CCTVs per school was determined in proportion to the number of students, according to DepEd Taguig-Pateros administrator George Tizon.

Each school would have a minimum of four cameras. In Signal Village’s case, 12 more would be installed upon the completion of three more school buildings which are currently under construction, Tizon told the Inquirer.

The video can be viewed in real time and archived, with the monitors set up at the principal’s office.

Taguig has 12 government-run high schools and 22 elementary schools—and its own share of campus bullying cases that had become a growing concern for parents, educators and law enforcers over the past few years.

Aside from the CCTV installation, the program includes the setup of a Students’ Anti-Bullying Assistance Center (Sabac) per school, where the incidents can be reported by student to a peer. From there, counselors and other school authorities would take over.

“With the completion of the CCTV camera installation, we expect to deter the bullying situation in schools. We aim to have a ‘student-friendly’ environment in our public schools. With the Sabac and CCTVs in place, bullies will be wary of their actions and at the same time, victims will no longer have that fear of going to school,” Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano said in a statement Friday.

Aside from CCTVs, the Taguig government has also equipped all 34 schools with air-conditioning units and generator sets.

With the new school year just a week-old, Tizon said campus CCTVs had yet to catch a bully—but spotted someone who may be considered equally alarming. In one school, he said, one pupil was seen stealing an item from the canteen.