South African schools battle growing culture of bullying

11 Jun 2024

Bullying in schools can lead to long-term consequences relating to social adjustment and leave victims with low self-confidence and decreased motivation to study. While some schools are using innovative methods to address bullying, it’s hard to eradicate.

A learner at a primary school in Free State was fatally stabbed by another learner in an alleged bullying incident on 8 May 2024.

Free State Education Department spokesperson Howard Ndaba said the dead learner, who was just 11 years old, was stabbed by a nine-year-old learner from Monamodi Primary School. The dead learner had attended the neighbouring WSM Malotle Primary School in Brandfort.

The learner was stabbed three times in full view of other learners and died on the scene.

Ndaba said the suspect had, according to his mother, complained that he was continually bullied by the learner he stabbed and his brother.

The incident highlights the lasting damage and sometimes brutal consequences that can be caused by bullying.

Childline South Africa CEO Dumisile Nala said bullying in schools could lead to long-term consequences relating to social adjustment and leave victims with low self-confidence and decreased motivation to study.

“All of these ultimately lead to the child’s social skills being impacted, leading to anxiety and depression, thereby contributing to suicidal feelings or self-harm,” Nala said.

Pattern of behaviour

Nala said that this year Childline had noted a 109% increase in calls related to bullying in schools compared to last year. She said this was a serious concern.

South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) education project manager Roshni Parbhoo-Seetha said they frequently received reports of bullying in schools.

Learners, Parbhoo-Seetha said, could help address bullying by fostering an inclusive and respectful environment while schools needed to implement anti-bullying policies.

Nala said bullies were children with problems who often were being bullied or hurt themselves, felt powerless and had poor self-esteem.

“Bullying is often a way of trying to feel in control. Bullying can become a pattern of behaviour that lasts a lifetime.”

Signs that a child is being bullied in school include their results dropping, unexplained injuries, being unable to explain how they lost or damaged their belongings and not wanting to go to school.

Parbhoo-Seetha said, “Teachers and parents can support these children by providing them with a safe space to talk. We need to ensure that they know it is not their fault.”

A framework to address bullying

The National School Safety Framework (NSSF) is an instrument through which minimum standards for safety at school can be established, implemented and monitored to hold schools, districts of education and provincial education departments accountable.

The framework states that many learners are reluctant to report their experiences of violence and bullying.

“For this reason, it is important that schools encourage reporting and communicate to learners that reporting is in their best interest and is for purposes of support rather than punishment.”

In Parliament in March, EFF MP Mathapelo Siwisa said the NSSF had “dismally failed especially in rural and township schools, where some of the cases of bullying in schools continue to be hidden”.

Siwisa asked Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga what, other than the NSSF, her department was doing to ensure that all learners, on and off school premises, were not subjected to bullying.

Motshekga replied that the Department of Basic Education remained committed to the use of the NSSF as an “effective and operative overarching framework to assist schools in identifying and managing safety issues”.

She said this would ensure that schools were safe and provided inclusive environments for teaching and learning.

“At its core, issues of bullying remain the responsibility of the schools via their codes of conduct, which are outlined in the NSSF with the intention of preventing and managing incidents of misconduct within the school environment,” Motshekga said.

Learner codes of conduct, she said, were developed by schools in consultation with the school governing bodies and learner representative councils.

She said her department was developing a national strategy to assist schools with preventing and managing cases of bullying, including cyberbullying.

“This strategy aims to address systemic causes of bullying to ensure that this social ill is eradicated from our schools, while also providing a practical guide for schools to deal with incidents of bullying on the ground.”

Case study – Grey High School

In practice, addressing bullying requires a long-term commitment from teachers, learners and parents to create a culture where learners feel safe.

Grey High School in Mill Park, Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, is one example of how difficult it is to address bullying concerns in schools and the innovative methods some schools are using in an attempt to help.

A parent, who spoke to Daily Maverick and asked to remain anonymous to protect the identity of her son, said they had removed him from Grey High School’s hostel because of bullying.

“Older boys [in the hostel] possess unchecked power, which they use to terrorise younger boys,” she said.

She said there was a culture of not formally reporting these incidents because of fear of being labelled “snitches”.

Young boys, she said, were hit by older boys on their buttocks with hockey sticks for several reasons — including making noise or failing to sing outside at night — and forced to do military-style exercises early in the morning.

“There is even a WhatsApp group where parents discuss bullying. Some of the bullied learners suffer from serious medical conditions.”

“When the school tries to tackle one thing, another new form of bullying emerges,” she said.

Anonymous reporting

Grey High rector Christian Erasmus said they condemned bullying and the school strove to prevent such incidents. Erasmus said their stance on anti-bullying was clear and they worked daily to foster an anti-bullying culture.

Learners were constantly reminded that if they felt they could not discuss issues with their teachers or the school psychologist, they could use the Guardian App.

The app provides an anonymous reporting option, along with suggestion boxes, online forms and email addresses. This helps to alleviate fears of retaliation and encourages learners to come forward.

Reports to the Guardian App, Erasmus said, were received by predetermined staff members who were responsible for the investigation of these reports.

“Management at the school has been responsible for carefully selecting this team. This team is administered by an admin person who administers push notifications, an active ambassador, an ambassador and five investigators. All have been through rigorous training [on] the Guardian.”

“Every single report has to be resolved either online or through face-to-face communication if the reporter calls for it,” he said.

‘Culture of openness’

Erasmus said the Grey High hostel had promoted a culture of openness and trust to foster an environment where learners felt safe and comfortable discussing their concerns with teachers or designated staff members.

“We encourage open communication and assure learners that reporting bullying is not the same as ‘snitching’, but rather a responsible action to ensure everyone’s wellbeing,” Erasmus said.

Senior boys, he said, did not have unchecked power and any assault would be dealt with swiftly. Morning exercises, he said, took place from time to time but, he said, they were voluntary and staff ran with the learners.

He said the focus was on morning exercise and a healthy lifestyle, not punishment.

To educate learners on bullying prevention, he said, they had conducted workshops with legal representatives and police officers.

‘Inclusivity’

“Cameras have been installed in all public areas of the hostel and the school where potential incidents can be monitored,” he said.

The school and hostel strove to promote positive peer relationships by encouraging activities and initiatives that promoted positive peer relationships, such as teamwork and inclusivity.

“It is frustrating that many have the false perception that schools such as ours would, in some way, condone bullying,” he said. “We would think that we have done more to deal with bullying than would ordinarily be expected of a school and our efforts in this regard are ongoing.” DM

The Childline national office number is 0312012059 and Sadag can be contacted on 0800 567 567 or 0800 456 789.

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