Parliament slams Milnerton High over lack of anti-bullying policy

MILNERTON High School does not have a formal anti-bullying policy in place.

This is the finding the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education made following an oversight visit to the school on Friday. The visit follows the assault of a 16-year-old grade 10 pupil by several other boys, in a video that subsequently went viral online. 

Six pupils were charged with assault in the Cape Town Magistrate’s court on Thursday and released on R2 000 bail. 

During Friday's meeting, the principal noted that there was an anti-bullying policy in place but when he was asked to produce it, committee chairperson Joy Maimela said he was unable to do so, “leading the committee to conclude that it does not exist”. 

“The school’s code of conduct, which was provided by the principal, mentioned anti-bullying in a paragraph but with no tangible plan to address the problem,” Maimela said. 

The pupils, who are currently on cautionary suspension, are also expected to appear before a school disciplinary hearing.

Links between bullying and the culture within the school’s first rugby team were to be investigated, the committee said. Maimela underscored the need for the school to urgently formulate an anti-bullying policy, accelerate disciplinary processes and move to eradicate practices that stifle change.

"A second session will be convened on the matter, away from the school grounds," Maimela said. 

The South African Human Rights Commission recently confirmed having launched an investigation into the incident, saying: “Because of the growing concern over bullying in schools, the Commission will roll out a rights and responsibilities campaign in schools to emphasise with learners that while they have rights, they also have a duty to understand that rights come with responsibilities. The rights and responsibilities campaign will capacitate learners on school codes of conduct, and respect for the rights of learners and teachers.”

In response to questions related to the Parliamentary visit, Western Cape Education Department (WCED) spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the school was in the process of developing an anti-bullying strategy. 

“The school acknowledged that they had a social media policy, followed the abuse by no more guidelines, and that anti-bullying was included in their code of conduct. They acknowledged, not denied, that they would now develop an anti-bullying policy. This has already been initiated. The WCED will also provide guidance and support in the development of the policy.

“The School Governing Body and the School Leadership have initiated discussions and wider consultation regarding a comprehensive response plan for safety and discipline in our school, including bullying. This inquiry will assess the necessity and structure of partnerships with external experts, WCED specialists, and non-governmental organisations, focused on restorative education, to promote non-violence, empathy, and conflict resolution across the school,” said Hammond. 

She added that following a disciplinary hearing, the school will determine a sanction or recommend expulsion to the WCED.

"If a recommendation is received, the recommendation is carefully considered by the HOD and he will determine whether to uphold or dismiss the expulsion recommendation," Hammond said.

Parents for an Equal Education founder Vanessa Le Roux, who also spoke on behalf of one of the parents of a victim, said the family was taking it day by day. 

“At this point, they are not doing well. He doesn’t want to go to school. We found out on that day the school never even made contact with the victim’s parents. They only made contact that morning when the portfolio informed them they were coming for an oversight visit. There was no counselling but now we managed to get the victim and his mother in counselling. They are starting this week,” Le Roux said. 

To address the scourge of bullying in schools, Le Roux called for a safety summit to be held, with all stakeholders involved. "We need to come up with tangible solutions,” she said.

1000 Women Trust, a women-led organisation and a pioneer in the field of anti-bullying has found that many South African schools were ill-prepared to deal with the scourge of bullying due to failure to step up efforts in  establishing a comprehensive anti-bullying and zero-tolerance policy.

“The horrifying incident at Milnerton High is not an isolated bullying event as 57 % of SA learners experience bullying in their lifetime.  Yet, our research shows that many schools are simply not prepared to deal with this scourge.

“Parents participating in the 1000 Women Trust anti-bully training visited 279 South African schools over the past 365 days and established that only 50 % of them had anti-bullying policies, while only 81 of these schools could share the policies,” said 1000 Women Trust co-founder Tina Thiart. 

However none of those 81 schools had restorative practices for bullying, said Thiart.

The 1000 Women Trust invites all parents, teachers and community leaders to participate in its anti-bully training, it is free and on Whatsapp.

Schools can also download the training manual from the website www.bullying.co.za or contact 0614690479 for Infographics to use in educating the school about bullying.

Cape Times