‘Stop bullying each other in schools’, says Basic Education Minister

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said she was concerned about the levels of violence and bullying in some schools.

The Minister worried about bullying

Motshekga was speaking to pupils at Kgatoentle High School in Ga-Rankuwa on the first day of the school calendar on Wednesday.

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Motshekga said she would get worried each time she was informed that a pupil was injured in school or that pupils are bullying each other in school.

“All the time I get pictures I am told that you guys have stabbed each other you have killed each other I would like to say to you this behavior starts small,” Motshekga said.

A message to boys and girls

Motshekga told the boys in the school to be careful of toxic behavior that made them violent towards other pupils. She said there were also some girls with bullying tendencies.

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“Grade 7s, my children please stay away from fights and wrong things. Things that you do habitually those things will become part of you,” she said.

Motshekga said being rude, proud and disrespectful were bad tendencies that pupils should stay away from.

“All we ask from you is nothing else but respect humility and hard work. We are asking this of you because you are important. Government spends a lot of resources in your education,” she said.

Motshekga appealed to the pupils to focus on their studies and ensure that they go to university after obtaining high marks.

“Your time for study is now this is your time you use it or you lose it. We do not want to see you struggling and asking for money from people,” she said.

According to Saps data from January to September 2023, there were 27 murders, 59 attempted murders, 707 assaults and shockingly 229 rapes at educational facilities, contributing to the increase in pregnancies and dropout rate for adolescent girls.