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Chairperson of the Portfolio on Basic Education and ANC MP Joy Maimela is advocating for exhaustive anti-bullying policies in schools.Milnerton High School is under scrutiny after eight pupils attacked a boy in Grade 10.Maimela said education cannot thrive in an environment of fear and that pupils who feel unsafe cannot learn. Schools should have exhaustive anti-bullying policies instead of just addressing the scourge superficially through codes of conduct, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education and ANC MP Joy Maimela said. Maimela and members of her committee visited Milnerton High School in the Cape Town suburb of the same name last week after a video showing eight pupils at the school violently attacking a 16-year-old Grade 10 pupil went viral. Eight boys appeared in court on assault charges on Thursday, and six of them were released on bail of R2 000, while the other two, minors, were released on warning. Speaking at a media briefing at Parliament on Monday, Maimela said the committee had been informed that the school would have held disciplinary hearings on Saturday, but it had to consult with the schooling district and provincial department first. Maimela was concerned about the time it took for the alleged bullies to be suspended and the culture of bullying at the school, saying that MPs had been informed that acts of bullying had been reported to the rugby coach before, but he had not taken action. READ | Parliament hears of ‘culture of violence’ at Milnerton High, lack of anti-bullying policy News24 reported earlier that Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the school acted once it had credible evidence. But the chairperson noted that the incident at Milnerton High School wasn’t an isolated event. Maimela said: She said the committee she chairs was deeply concerned about the rising number of school bullying incidents, which includes verbal, physical and psychological bullying and cyberbullying. “Behind every statistic is a child, a learner whose confidence, learning journey and sense of belonging are being eroded by fear and intimidation. “Education cannot thrive in an environment of fear, and a learner who feels unsafe cannot learn, and a teacher who fears discipline cannot teach effectively.” Maimela said the committee had noted that most schools do not have comprehensive anti-bullying policies. “What they do have is code of conducts, which just really touches the issue of bullying. But it is not a comprehensive policy, and it does not give learners an understanding or a comprehension of what they should do when such incidents happen or when they are affected by bullying. “And, as a result, we have directed the department to assist all our schools to ensure that there are anti-bullying policies.” READ | Eight Milnerton High pupils released on R2 000 bail, barred from school She added that a policy beyond a code of conduct was required to also address pupils’ usage of cellphones, particularly regarding the propensity of such incidents to go viral, which, according to Maimela, is a secondary form of bullying. She said the department must also create reporting mechanisms that would allow pupils to report anonymously. She said another concern for the committee was access to psychosocial support. Maimela said her committee would, through its oversight work, make efforts to ensure that safety measures are enforced at schools, bullying incidents are tracked and that decisive action is taken.
