Pupils using Facebook and Bebo to bully teachers

London, June 26 : While pupils are getting more in tune with social networking sites like Facebook and Bebo, some pranksters are actually making use of these websites to bully their teachers in school.

Keeping in mind many serious incidents in past resulting from abuse on such sites, police was asked to step in when web pages devoted to harassing teachers at Forest School in Horsham, West Sussex were discovered.

This school has now filed charges against pupils for causing "hurt and distress" to members of the teaching staff.

The head teacher, Siobhan Denning, said that they have identified a group of "less than ten" culprits and have even shut down offending internet pages.

"A very small number of pupils are exploiting the negative aspects of the internet and in doing so, hurting and distressing others. We work hard with all members of our school community to foster an ethos of respect towards each other, and we all feel disappointed when a small number within our community let us down," The Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

While the school did not reveal the exact details of the comments made online or the identity of the teachers targeted, it is now keeping an eye on Bebo and Facebook and cautioned that police enquiry will be launched against anyone caught bullying.

Already, these pupils, all aged 11-16 years, have been suspended for up to five days, while they are being questioned by the police. "Schools across the country have been tackling the issue over the past couple of years. It is taken very seriously, as seriously as any other form of bullying. We pride ourselves on challenging bullying," said Denning.

In the past, many cases related to internet bullying have been registered and even a senior Bebo executive met national education advisors in 2006 to tackle cyber-bullying on the site.

And since then, it has since introduced a number of security measures to curb unsuitable comments appearing online unchecked.

ANI