Hundreds of primary pupils in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho joined a painting contest with the theme of preventing violence in school on January 16.

 Drawing the pictures

From early morning, hundreds of students eagerly gathered at the local Children’s Cultural House to happily spend the time on artistic expression of the theme.

After the opening ceremony, the contestants settled down and chose their own place to draw pictures and let their imagination run wild.

Le Ngoc Hieu Thuan, a fourth grade student at Thoi Binh 1 Primary School, shared, “I’ve drawn a picture of two boys who are fighting. Then a supervisor goes by, advising them to stop and also pointing at the board on the classroom saying that ‘Friendly school, good students.’ I want to send a message that students shouldn’t fight against each other but make the learning environment become friendlier.”

Other students also expressed their ideas through the paintings including a call for students to be punished due to fighting, the active co-operation between schools and parents in educating students, and conflict mediation between students.

Teachers also said that the contest not only provided entertainment for children but also helped to raise their awareness over the negative impact of school-based violence.

 Portraying a message through art

Ideas on preventing school violence