Pupils face not only violence and rape at school but have to deal with increasing "cyber and homophobic" bullying, parliament heard yesterday. The Department of Basic Education briefed parliament's education oversight committee yesterday on school safety, violence and bullying, and outlined the strategies it will use to combat them.The department's director-general, Paddy Padayachee, told the committee that violence in schools was common, with the classroom being the "primary site".He said the department had a number of strategies for the prevention and management of bullying in schools."Training manuals on the prevention and management of bullying, [including] cyber and homophobic bullying, have been developed and master trainers have been trained in all nine provinces."We have compiled a manual on dealing with homophobic bullying."He said the department had developed "e-safety" guidelines on cyber bullying, which is the posting of offensive material online or the spreading of malicious rumours.Padayachee said the department had been supported by the information technology industry in dealing with cyber bullying."We've had great relationships with Microsoft and Intel. We've developed a booklet to be circulated to all schools. We've updated it as technology evolves, taking into account social media platforms," Padayachee told the committee.Child rights advocate Joan van Niekerk said every school in the country should have a policy on dealing with both the bully and the bullied child."It is important that parents with children at school follow up and ensure that a policy on bullying does exist and that it is implemented."There has to be a known reporting mechanism and a policy for dealing with a victimised child," she said.Additional reporting by Katharine Child..