A Johannesburg mother says she is doing all she can to ensure her child does not join the list of Gauteng pupils who have taken their own lives because of bullying.
The woman, who TimesLIVE Premium is not naming to protect the identity of her child, said she escorts her child to and from school daily to prevent run-ins with her child's alleged bully.
Her daughter is a grade 10 pupil at Chris J Botha Secondary School in Bosmont.
The 56-year-old woman told TimesLIVE Premium the biggest issue is not having a way to protect her daughter during school hours.
She said problems started last year when her daughter was writing exams which she failed. The mother claimed this was due to the stress her daughter suffered.
I will not wait until my daughter decides to kill herself, as she has mentioned a few times
— The mother of a child who is allegedly bullied at school
In one of several incidents last month, the alleged bully and her friends reportedly walked into her daughter’s classroom during school hours and made rude remarks about her daughter's sexual conduct.
This prompted the frustrated mother to request a meeting with the school governing body (SGB), the teacher and the principal. However, according to the mom, the brazen bully repeated the words.
After this the bully was suspended for seven days.
Fearing for her daughter’s safety at school, the mother asked for the education department to be called in to handle the matter.
She said the school promised a hearing would be held with the department but when she arrived at the school when the meeting was scheduled to occur, it did not happen.
She said after a week the bullying escalated. She said it turned out the alleged bully was never given a warning
She said her daughter was assaulted outside the school gate, reportedly by the alleged bully’s brother.
The mother has blamed the principal for allowing the bullying behaviour. Last month, her daughter did not go to school for three days after the assault.
“I am hopeless and tired. My daughter is being victimised and the principal is [allegedly] allowing it. This was verbal abuse, harassment and victimisation,” she said.
“I will not wait until my daughter decides to kill herself, as she has mentioned a few times. She can no longer deal with it. I can no longer deal with the incompetent principal. How many children have killed themselves because of bullying? I urge the department to take this seriously and assist with the matter.”
Last October when Khehlekile Primary l grade 6 pupil Sibusiso Mbatha took his own life after allegedly being bullied at the school about his sexual orientation, MEC Matome Chiloane said the department had ramped up its psychosocial unit and partnered with NGOs.
This included establishing boxes where pupils could insert the name of the person bullying them to help with mental health issues.
The CEO of Childline, Dumisile Nala, said it was unfortunate [if] the child and her mother have not been assisted and they hoped the school has an anti-bullying policy it has followed.
“A parent walking the child to school every day is not sustainable. It is not helping the situation because the day the parent for whatever reason is unable to walk the child to school, the child might be exposed to the same bullying. In most cases, we know bullying starts small and escalates,” she said.
Childline encourages children and young people to do the following:
- You must tell the person who is bullying you that you don't like what they are doing. Tell them to stop it.
- Try not to walk or be by yourself. Walk with your friends as bullies are likely to bully you when you are on your own.
- Tell an adult about what is going on. It could be a teacher at school or a caregiver at home.
- Tell someone until something is done about it.
- Use services such as Childline 116 where you can speak to a counsellor who will assist with the specific issue you are facing.
- In most cases, there are other children who are witnesses to bullying incidents. Being a witness and not doing anything to protect the child who is being bullied makes you a contributor to the bullying. As someone who is witnessing the bullying, report it to the school or adults.
- By reporting what you see, you are contributing to a positive environment in your school that is free from bullying.
Gauteng department of education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department was aware of the incident. While the mother claimed the meeting did not happen, Mabona said the meeting was held between their officials and the parents of the victim.
“Accordingly, necessary disciplinary processes are under way. The outcomes will be communicated to all affected parties.
“A team of district officials, inclusive of the psychosocial support team, has been allocated to assist the school. The department ensures proper procedures are followed,” he said.
Schools are assisted to come up with preventive measures to avoid recurrences, he said.
“While the matter may be concluded as soon as the disciplinary hearing is finalised, remedial action may take longer depending on the programmes to which pupils may be subjected, such as diversion programmes for behaviour modification and counselling.”
Mabona said the department has a policy of zero tolerance of bullying and any form of misconduct.
“Anyone found to be transgressing this policy is dealt with in line with the South African Schools Act code of conduct, which governs all schools. Schools are urged to enforce their codes of conduct to deal with bullying and other disciplinary matters. We implore parents to assist the department in instilling pupil discipline inside and outside the school environment.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.