Parliament raises concern over lack of anti-bullying policies at schools

Chairpersons of Parliament’s Social Services Cluster oversight committees briefed the media on Monday on various oversight priorities in the basic and higher education sectors.

From the tertiary level, tensions have escalated at institutions such as the University of Fort Hare, where an arson attack recently destroyed multiple campus buildings and highlighted “much bigger issues” around student-management conflict and institutional instability. At the school level, a wave of bullying and school-based violence continues to undermine learner safety and wellbeing.

According to Parliament, Between January and March this year, there were 548 reported cases of bullying in schools, prompting the Minister of Basic Education to unveil new initiatives aimed at combating the growing curve. Earlier studies show that 65 percent of Grade 9 learners experienced bullying monthly, and systemic shortcomings in oversight, resources and policy implementation allow incidents to go unreported.

PICTURE: Pixabay

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Joy Maimela, described the bullying incidents at learning institutions as a Threat to Learning and Dignity. The committee expressed concern by the rising number of reported bullying incidents in schools, including physical, verbal, psychological, and cyber bullying.

‘’Behind every statistic is a child, a learner whose confidence, learning journey, and sense of belonging are being eroded by fear and intimidation. Education cannot thrive in an environment of fear. A learner who feels unsafe cannot learn; a teacher who fears discipline cannot teach effectively.’’

With regards to the incident at Milnerton High School, the committee visited the school last Thursday in the wake of the horrific assault on a 16-year old learner by several other boys, who used various objects, including a hockey stick, hose pipe and belt to beat the boy.

Maimela has told the principal along with members of the school governing body (SGB) and management team to ensure that the school has an effective anti-bullying policy in place as a matter of urgency.

‘’We engaged with the school, the district and the DBE. The majority of schools do not have a comprehensive anti-bullying policy. It is a Code of Conduct for Learners that merely touches on it. The right to education, as enshrined in our Constitution, includes the right to a safe, supportive and respectful learning environment.’’

‘’The Department’s National School Safety Framework, the Code of Conduct for Learners and the recently updated Manual Addressing Bullying in Schools are important instruments. But the challenge we face is not the absence of policy; it is the inconsistent implementation of these measures at the school level. We call on school governing bodies, principals, teachers, parents, and communities to take a firm stand. Silence enables bullying; intervention saves lives. We need vigilance, empathy and partnership. Every learner must know that their voice matters and that help is available,’’ she added.

Maimela also highlighted the Shortage of psycho-social support. She said the learners and parents had not received adaqueate support at Milnerton High School, as only one social worker is attached to thirty schools.

Maimela claims there are many other incidents of bullying at the school

‘’We were assured that a disciplinary hearing was held on Saturday. They must still go to the education authorities. We requested a full report. We expressed concern about the time it took for the school to report on this. It seems the alleged culprits further bullied the victim as the school took its time. We further believe that a rugby coach at the school further enabled this type of behaviour.

‘’Bullying is not only a moral and social problem. It is an educational one. Studies show that victims of bullying perform worse academically, are more likely to be absent and are at higher risk of dropping out. Thus, tackling bullying is not separate from ensuring NSC readiness. It is an essential part of it,’’ added Maimela.

Responding to the disciplinary hearing of the suspended learners, Western Cape Education Department’s Bronagh Hammond told Bush Radio that the matter is ongoing with investigations still underway. The kearners appeared in court for charges with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and the matter has been postponed to January 2026.

‘’There is certain things that needs to be reported – inform the School Safe directorate, fill in a form 22, which informs the Social Development Department in terms of abuse, SAPS is also being informed to investigate. In this case, they did not have the video so they informed parents. Eight learners are facing disciplinary hearings. We cannot expel the learners as due processes needs to be followed. We do not know if that is part of the school governing body. Before the Milnerton High incident, there has been a lot of gang related incidents. We are also updating our ‘’Abuse protocol’’ which is a mechanism between WCED and other government agencies for abuse and violence and will be released in November.’’

Hammond said there is a social media protocol for online bullying, but says anti-bullying policies needs to be implemented across the province.

In the first half of the 2025 school year, 69 cases of alleged bullying were reported to Safe Schools. According to the Western Cape education Department, there had been 65 expulsions for 2025 for serious misconduct.

 

Done by: Mitchum George