As South Africa comes to grips with gender-based violence with ongoing protests following the recent student deaths at universities, the spotlight has turned to bullying at schools where Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga revealed there were 1 345 violent hot spots in the country.
Bullying is far more common in no-fee public schools - almost half of learners reported being bullied on a weekly basis, compared with just a quarter of those in independent schools.Nearly a quarter of Grade 5s who report experiencing bullying weekly underperform compared with those who almost never experience bullying scoring on average 72 points higher.
But this focus is integral to addressing gender-based violence, as among others the Commission on Gender Equality have called for increased awareness among boys to instil values on how they treat women at schools. In the presentation on safety and security in schools which contained bullying statistics, Granville Whittle, deputy director-general of the department, said the trend of school violence, has been decreasing over the past few years.
Jephta expressed the SAPS’ commitment to sustained action to deal with the persistent challenge of violence at schools until it is resolved. On the maintenance of School Safety Programme in each province, the total number from 2016 to date is 25 749.
'High accident zone' cabal