Department to deal with bullies
THE DEPARTMENTof Basic Education has started its investigation into the violence at Hoërskool Elspark, recommending counselling for the pupils who were filmed being attacked on the school’s premises.
On Monday, The Star reported on how the Boksburg school’s administration had allegedly ignored several cellphone videos of bullying and violence, forcing a concerned mother to approach the media.
The parent detailed her battles to get help from school staff, going as far as laying assault charges against the bullies who had terrorised her two teenage children for several months.
One of the videos submitted to the department shows the mother’s 15-year-old daughter being approached by an older girl. The other girl pokes her in the forehead and pushes her.
The younger pupil tries to walk away, but the other girl smacks her in the back of the head, turns her around and begins punching her in the face while pupils laugh and film the episode on their cellphones.
Another video shows the woman’s 16-year-old son also being beaten by a pupil who attacks him without provocation.
Yet another video shows parents fist-fighting outside the school gates, allegedly because the school failed to sort out a dispute between their two children.
The parent of the 15-yearold girl said the videos were shown to the school’s top administration in June, but was told there was nothing that could be done, and the attacks continued for months.
When the department received the inquiry from The Star last week, it said officials would be sent to investigate the allegations on Friday last week.
Department spokeswoman Phumla Sekhonyane said officials had ordered that the school take immediate disciplinary action against the pupils who had conducted the assaults.
“The officials also requested that counselling be provided to the learners who are alleged to have been assaulted,” she said.
Disciplinary hearings against the alleged bullies are set to start on Monday.