An important role in countering and combating bullying in Ukrainian schools is played by a school psychologist, but a third of the country's general educational institutions are not equipped with specialists of this kind, says educational ombudsman Sergei Gorbachev in an interview with ZN. UA.

“Schools are provided with psychologists by approximately 60–65%, that is, a third of specialist schools of this profile do not have. The salary of a school psychologist is about 4-5 thousand hryvnias. There are few who want it, knowing that they will earn about five times more on counseling. We need to work on this problem, ”Gorbachev believes..

According to the Ombudsman, the idea of \u200b\u200bwithdrawing the school psychologist from subordination to the principal is now being hotly debated, but school directors themselves and the leadership of the educational authorities are opposed to it.

“I can only assume that the resistance is caused by fears that such a format of the psychologist’s work would not bring to light what some colleagues would like to hide... For example, the psychologist sees that the reason for the conflicts is not how the child or teacher behaves, but because.

Moreover, if the psychologist’s conclusion is justified, then he should write in the report. And no one should indicate to him what can be written and what not, Gorbachev emphasizes.

There are questions to the professional level of school psychologists - there are times when practicing psychologists ignore professional ethics. As an example, Gorbachev cites a case in one of the schools of the capital, where a psychologist at a parent meeting talked about children's problems, giving names.

" \? - this psychologist tells me. - I don’t have the right to tell, and parents do not have the right to know the truth about their child? “Parents have the right, of course: but only individually, during a conversation in private, and very delicately,” the expert summarizes.