PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The Mayor of Bandung, Muhammad Farhan, emphasized that the implementation of the School Environment Introduction Period (MPLS) in all schools must take place without hazing practices or violence in any form.

According to Farhan, the five-day MPLS should be focused on orientation activities and introducing the school environment for new students.

"Hazing is not allowed, absolutely not allowed. MPLS is only for school introductions," he stressed while reviewing the implementation of MPLS at a number of schools in Bandung City, Monday (13/7/2026).

He said that the Bandung City Government continues to strengthen efforts to prevent bullying from an early age.

One of them is through increasing the capacity of Guidance and Counseling (BP) teachers who have received training from psychologists.

The training will be evaluated for its effectiveness over the course of one semester to see its impact on handling cases of violence and bullying in schools.

"One of the things we're trying to prevent is the development of a culture of violence or bullying among schoolchildren. This must be prevented from the start," he said.

In addition, the Bandung City Government will continue the Character Education Strengthening Program for ninth grade students with a national defense approach involving instructors from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) every Friday.

The program began in 2025 and targets adolescents who are considered to be in the identity-discovery phase and therefore require stronger character development.

Farhan also said that character education will be combined with a modern psychological approach.

The government will evaluate the presence of clinical psychologists in 12 community health centers to strengthen mental health services for students.

According to him, the results of free health checks show a tendency towards increasing mental health problems in children, ranging from mild stress to depression.

In addition, the risk of increased consumption of sugar, fat, and carbohydrates was also found, which could potentially trigger diabetes in the future.

Therefore, the Bandung City Government is currently reviewing increasing the frequency of sports lessons to three times a week to encourage children to be more active and develop a healthy lifestyle from school age.

(Bandung City Communications and Information Service/rka)