Queen´s trip may be hit by crisis

Staff Reporter ALTHOUGH yob culture is not as prevalent in Majorca as it is in Britain, it is a growing concern and the Balearic government has decided to tackle the problem before it is too late. In order to do so it has set up an Observatory, whose main mission will be to prevent and handle conflictive situations in Balearic schools. The Observatory will be headed by Jordi Llabrés, former head of the Palma city council's education department. Details of the plans to tackle yob culture were revealed yesterday by government spokesman Joan Flaquer, after the regular Friday government meeting. Bullying seems to be on the increase in Spain and the news of the Observatory comes in the middle of a controversial case in San Sebastian. Eight minors went on trial there after a fellow pupil committed suicide apparently following months of bullying. His parents, with the backing of hundreds of parents, have appealed against the sentence -18 months on probation plus, for four of the offenders, three weekends in a remand centre. Flaquer said that there was growing concern over bullying at school, which “makes education more difficult and is a key factor in failure at school.” He added that the Observatory was being set up in response to the need to put an end to the verbal and physical bullying which is found in schools and to protect defenceless pupils. It will comprise representatives of the ministries and institutions directly related to education, as well as specialists and experts in the matter, all under the jurisdiction of Llabrés. Ana Pastor, the Partido Popular (PP) spokeswoman for social welfare policy, announced during a visit to Palma last February that the regions governed by the PP would set up bodies to tackle the problem of bullying and yob culture.