Following the return to in-person classes, violence in schools has increased this year, a government survey showed.

 In the survey by the Education Ministry, 1.7 percent of students said they suffered violence in schools in 2022, up 0.6 percentage point from last year, when most schools shifted classes online due to COVID-19. The number is 0.1 percentage point higher than in 2019, before the pandemic.

 About 3.21 million students, or 82.9 percent of the total, from fourth graders of elementary schools to high school seniors across the country, excluding North Jeolla Province, participated in the survey.

 By type of violence, 41.8 percent reported verbal abuse, followed by physical violence, ostracism and cyberbullying. (Yonhap)