WATCH: Girl bullied outside high school in Tshwane by ‘friends’

A video of what appears to be a fight between two high schoolers circulating on social media has caused great concern among the community and parents of Eersterust, east of Tshwane.

The department of education told Rekord it was aware of the video, which shows five Grade 9 pupils involved in a fight outside Eersterust Secondary School last week.

The mother of the 15-year-old victim told the publication that her daughter was victimised and is traumatised. 

“I see this as a form of bullying. I don’t want her to grow up in this kind of environment where she is being bullied at school,” she said. 

Her daughter informed her that “friends” were threatening her the day before the incident. She told her mother she was scared they were going to “attack” her.

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“As they walked out of the gate the following day, the one girl came from behind and started hitting and kicking her.

“She pulled her to the ground where she then kept on kicking her,” the upset mother told Rekord. 

In the video, the words “Moer [hit] her” can be heard repeatedly as a young man eggs the fighting pupils on.

Spokesperson for the Gauteng department of education Steve Mabona said all learners that were involved in the fight opened a case with Saps (South African Police Service), and that a meeting had been scheduled with their parents at the police station. 

“Disciplinary action has been scheduled and counselling will be offered to all the affected learners. We have referred the matter to the department of social development for further interventions and support,” Mabona said.

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Community intervention

A group of concerned community members visited the school last week, to discuss the matter. 

Among them was Voice it in Action president Kgothatso Moloto, together with concerned citizens and community members, Kenneth Petersen, Nicky Marshall, Vinolia Meyer and Debbie Moses of Current Situation.

“A lot of issues and challenges have been identified which require a higher level of engagement. 

“We plan to invite the department of education and community safety, concerned individuals and organisations, including the school principals in the area as well as school governing bodies, and other relevant entities to discuss possible solutions and a way forward in fighting against bullying and the alarming number of fights in the community by school children in particular,” Moloto said.

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He said working together would ensure that the fight against violence in communities and schools was reduced, detected sooner and ultimately stopped.

“We also pledged to work with the schools in Eersterust to ensure that these fights and other related challenges in and around the schools are stopped before they get out of hand.”

Edited by Nica Richards.

This article first appeared on Caxton publication Rekord, and was written by Carli Koch. Read the original article here.