This speech was delivered by GOOD MP Shaun August, during the Parliament debate today on bullying amongst learners in schools.
27 March 2021
Honourable Chairperson…
New technology and software, such as smartphones and Tik-Tok, have raised the profile of bullying at schools. To our disgust, we see many of our children behaving just as badly as many of us adults do – and we wring our hands and wonder what sickness has overcome them.
Bullying is not a new phenomenon. Nor is it a behaviour that is restricted to South Africa, or developing nations. Many of the worst bullying traditions in our schools were in fact inherited from our colonial masters.
But what makes it particularly painful for us to observe is the level of violence – that mirrors the level of violence in our homes and communities, and across our society.
Colleagues…
The impacts of bullying can be devastating in the short-term, as we recently saw with the tragic death of young Lufuno Mavhunga in Limpopo.
As parents, we are doing our schools a terrible disservice by perpetuating the cycle. By sending our children to school armed and dangerous with toxicity and aggression that they learn in our neighbourhoods and homes.
Though we hear stories of rogue teachers too often for comfort, they are not generally responsible for teaching our children verbal abuse, disrespect, aggression or violence.
Members…
We wont be able to fix the violence in our society without fixing the society, itself.
We cannot strive for justice for our children when our society is built on division, inequality and injustice. When the daily lived experience for many is the violence of poverty, scraping together enough food to barely feed your family, fearful of sending a child to the shop lest she gets attacked…
We need to fix social, economic, spatial and environmental injustice. When we do, when all young South Africans have equal opportunities to attain their dreams, when there is less hunger and there are more consequences for deviant behaviour, the levels of crime and violence in society will come down.
Honourable chair…
In the meantime, there are immediate steps we must take to mitigate the suffering of our children.
Education and Social Development must find a way to get more social workers and counsellors into our schools to support learners and their families.
Parents must receive useful advice to manage the emotional and mental well-being of their children at home.
We cannot sit on our hands. If we do, we are all complicit.
Thank you.