Programme aims to get to grips with school bullies

FIVE cases of bullying were reported to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) in the first three months of the year.

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the WCED recorded 35 cases in the previous year, and 111 in 2019.

Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) spokesperson Tad Khosa said the centre continued to receive reports of school bullying, although the specific type of cases were usually not reported as often, due to fear of secondary victimisation.

Hammond said the WCED had implemented a policy called “Abuse no More”, which provided guidelines to schools on dealing with any form of abuse, including bullying.

Khosa said that despite the existence of laws and policies which were meant to protect pupils, schools continued to be a space where pupils were exposed to physical and psychological violence.

“Bullying is an inter-sectional issue, and society and school communities have a responsibility to combat bullying in order to begin dismantling the factors which inform it,” he said.

Among the five cases was that of a Grade 8 boy from Belgravia High School in Athlone, who was caught on camera setting alight the hair of a Grade 8 girl two weeks ago.

The chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Basic Education, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, urged education authorities to ensure that those involved in bullying faced the consequences of their actions and that measures be taken to stamp out bullying.

She said the committee was planning an oversight visit to schools in the province in the near future and it was definitely an issue they would take up.

Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the department was embarking on a nationwide multi-sector, interdepartmental annual school safety and violence prevention drive to raise awareness of the distressing impact of bullying and violence reported in and around schools.

Mhlanga said the roll-out of the campaign “School Safety – Violence, and Bullying Prevention Initiatives” aimed to mobilise pupils, parents, teachers and key stakeholders in promoting a safe learning environment for quality education, and to galvanise constructive community involvement in schools, to curb incidents of bullying and violence.