The Ekurhuleni Good Party (EGP) is concerned about bullying behaviour among schoolchildren.
The conversation was sparked after a video of a Limpopo learner assaulted by a fellow learner went viral on social media. The learner succumbed to bullying and committed suicide.
The deputy secretary-general of EGP, Lehlohonolo Mtshali, said it is now too common to see videos appear and circulate on social media where learners are fighting, being bullied or committing violent acts.
“This is a clear indication of the ills of society and failure of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in providing solutions to deal with bullying,” he said.
“Good citizens cannot allow such behaviour to continue and for all the work to be left to teachers without interventions and assistance from the DBE.
“The EGP is calling for the minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, and her Gauteng counterpart, Panyaza Lesufi, to take action.
“Social workers and counsellors are critical role-players within this pandemic, in particular dealing with the reasons behind violent behaviour between learners.”
Mtshali said where school security is provided, the security personnel must be more vigilant on outbreaks of fights at school.
He said the DBE must increase its scope and deploy more resources to assist in uprooting the issue.
“Our teachers are under enormous pressure to go above and beyond their work, becoming counsellors and protectors while impacting on their responsibility to teach.
“This is impacting severely on the role of schools, which is to educate and produce excellent results. Families also need to play their role in the wellbeing of their children be it an aggressor or a victim,” he said.
EGP calls on parents, guardians and community leaders to play an active role in assisting schools to stop bullying.
“We call on them to teach our children respect and restore basic principles because we know such behaviour can start at home. If we fail as a society to stop bullying, we have failed our children.
“We will engage with education authorities and share ideas on how we can combat the scourge of bullying,” said Mtshali.
