The digital era has assisted in exposing violence at schools, but it has also been a conduit of bullying. Thus, the theme of this year’s international day was “Screen Smart: Learning to be safe in the digital era”. 

In the first three months of this year, 548 cases of bullying were reported to the basic education department, and eight months later, the numbers are expected to be exponentially higher.

School violence requires serious intervention from both state and society if we are to safeguard our children and the future of SA. 

The SA Human Rights Commission has, over the years, monitored each public incident of school violence reported to the various provincial education departments and has intervened where it was clear that schools did not have adequate policies or measures to address it.

The SAHRC developed and launched a Social Media Charter in 2023, which empowers and capacitates children and parents to understand their roles and responsibilities in the digital space. 

The charter specifically condemns all forms of online abuse, including bullying, intimidation, and gender-based violence, and encourages digital literacy and responsibility by imploring social media users to: verify information before sharing; understand the impact of online behaviour; respect privacy rights; avoid sharing personal information without consent; and avoid the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. 

In an effort to address the glaring gaps in anti-bullying policies in schools, the SAHRC, together with the Equal Education Law Centre and a panel of experts, has recently developed a comprehensive and constitutionally compliant Model School Code of Conduct. 

Creating safe schools is the responsibility of the entire school community — learners, educators, parents, security guards, sports coaches and drivers. The intention is for schools to adopt the code in full or adapt it to suit their needs while retaining its essence and provisions.

The code deals specifically with bullying, cyberbullying, and the possession or dissemination of any content, including sexual or explicit content, whether real or simulated, without the permission of the persons, whether they are visible or not. 

The code classifies bullying as serious misconduct which is subject to particular disciplinary procedures and sanctions. It also encourages the use of positive discipline, which focuses on mentorship, development, and prevention as opposed to punishment, in everyday classroom management, and on the use of the principles of restorative justice when disciplining learners, which focuses on accountability, healing, and the repairing of relationships after the harm has occurred — but only in the appropriate circumstances. 

The principles of positive discipline and restorative justice are important if we remember that we are dealing with young people, who are still forging identities and notions of belonging, as well as learning to distinguish between right and wrong in the context of a pervasively violent society.

We welcome the fact that the minister of basic education has already informed parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education of the code, and it is now a matter of finalising it and rolling it out.

Despite these interventions by the SAHRC and others, bullying and violence at school do not appear to be dissipating.

This is why the SAHRC has newly established a partnership with the South African Council for Educators (SACE), the professional council for educators with whom all educators must be registered, as part of a systemic intervention into sexual violence perpetrated by educators against learners.

The SAHRC-SACE partnership will ensure that educators who escape accountability through resignations do not escape professional accountability by ensuring the institution of SACE’s disciplinary procedures.

The SAHRC will be rolling out a learner rights-and-responsibilities campaign in schools to emphasise to learners that rights come with responsibilities — particularly towards their peers and educators. 

The campaign will capacitate learners on school codes of conduct and respect for the rights of learners and educators.

As we near the end of what has been a tumultuous year for the education sector, it is imperative that we recall that it is our schools — their culture and education — that will produce our future society.

If we are to become a society free from violence, we are required to ensure our schools are safe for future adults to thrive in and to live a different reality from the one now prevalent in SA. 

Madlingozi is a commissioner and Manuel is a research advisor for education, anti-racism and equality at the SA Human Rights Commission