OUTCRY OVER BULLYING AT LYNNWOOD RIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN TSHWANE

Concern organisations stage a protest at Lynwood Ridge primary school in Tshwane over allegation of bullying.

The angry group held placards, singing and dancing outside school gate during school hours calling for the department to act against bullying.

Amongst the concern group were MKYL members, COSAS, Patriotic Alliance, Operation Lukisa Sgela members and parents.

Parents told Tshwane Talks that the school has issues of bullying, and it has been going on for years and there is no solution to solve it.

A mother whose child has been bullied by a fellow learner at the Lynwood Ridge Primary School in Tshwane is aggrieved that the school, together with the Department of Basic Education have failed to stop this state of affairs.

The mother told Tshwane Talks on Tuesday that as a result of the bullying, she had to take her 8-year-old child out of Lynwood Ridge Primary School after being advised by psychiatrists to do so.

“The learner who is bullying my child has broken her completely and I was faced with the possibility of sending my 8-year-old child to Weskoppies psychiatric hospital, just imagine that an 8-year-old child at a psychiatric hospital,” lamented the mother.

According to the mother, the bullying started last year and since then she has tried without success to get the school and the Department of Basic Education to stop the bullying.

The mother revealed that she was promised that her child won’t be in the same classroom with the girl who has been bullying her, but the bullying never stopped, and my child got confronted and tormented by the girl who bullies her, because I dared to report this matter to the school’s authorities.

She pointed out that the bully has never been reprimanded and has actually told her child to kill herself.

“This is not normal as my child went into a state of depression and spent two months in hospital in Pretoria before she was transferred to a new school in Cape Town to avoid the bully,” said the mother.

“The bully told her she is fat, ugly and too big and tall to be in the class with other learners of her age, that she is poor, that she doesn’t have a father, and her lunch is not nice,” revealed the mother.

“She even told her that her party perks are ugly and had the audacity to tell me this much in front of the aftercare teacher, yet the school hasn’t done anything about this matter,” she lamented.

“The bully stays on at the school while I had to remove my daughter because they give her a pat on her shoulder and assure her (the bully) that she has done nothing wrong; that my daughter is making up the whole story,” said the mother.

She told Tshwane Talks that since removing her child, the bully has apparently found another victim and the parent of the new victim has confirmed this.

She said after sending out flyers and emails, other parents also came forward to reveal that their children were also being bullied at the school by other learners.

“This shows that the school is not serious about addressing the issue of bullying at the school,” said the mother.

She said one of the school’s authorities, known as Mr Kgomo, did nothing to resolve the matter.

“I am a single parent and now I have had to move my child to a private school after advice from psychiatrists, which is something that I can’t afford as fees are higher there and new uniform is needed,” she said.

“As parents we must pull our efforts together and stop this bullying because the school is a foundation phase and if we don’t stop bullying now, just imagine what will happen when these kids get to high school,” lamented the mother.

“I want to sit down with the head of the Department of Basic Education, MEC and Minister of Education and play them the tapes of complaints by my child so that they can hear and feel the pain that she has gone through,” explained the mother.

Community organisations and various political parties have also entered the fray to decry the bullying incidents at Lynwood Ridge Primary School.

“There is bullying taking place at this school and I know of a case whereby a boy was bullied for four years, first by a fellow learner and then by a teacher at the selfsame Lynwood Ridge Primary School,” said Patriotic Alliance member Felicia April.

“This is a national issue as it is not confined to the school and if we don’t do something about the bullies themselves, then it means we are raising gangsters,” she said, adding that there is also racism at Lynwood Ridge Primary School and the Department of Education wasn’t doing anything about the matter.

She pointed out that what the school does when faced with incidents of bullying is merely to separate the victim and the bully by putting them in different classrooms the following year, but this does not stop the bullying.

Founder of Operation Lokisa Sgela Phakedi Tsiane spoke to Tshwane Talks outside Lynwood Ridge Primary School on Tuesday and said that there is racism, bullying and hatred at the school and their mission is to correct anyone who is involved in acts of bullying, hatred and racism by delivering lectures to the learners.

“We are also on a crusade against drugs and violence at schools and there is a case of a learner who was assaulted and sustained an injury to his eye at this very school but the principal did nothing about the matter even though a case of assault was filed by the parent of a learner at Garsfontein Police station, and the police as well haven’t taken further steps since the case was reported to them” said Tsiane.

Convener of MK Youth League in Mamelodi Howard Mabena, who was also at the Lynwood Ridge Primary School, told Tshwane Talks that they came to the school after hearing of acts of bullying, racism and discrimination.

“We are here to say this is our country and this thing of racism was supposed to be something that has ended a long time ago, and we are here to fight against the policies of the school, which must protect each and every child here, and we are here to fight the system which will change by force and we will come here over and over again until the school’s authorities listen to us,” said Mabena.

Congress of South African Students Coordinator (COSAS) in Mamelodi Mvelo Ntuli, told Tshwane Talks that they came to the school to support a parent whose child was subjected to racism and bullying at the school.

Gauteng spokesperson Steve Mabona said the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) is aware of the said matter and views these allegations in a serious light.

An investigation has been launched to establish facts around the allegations.

A psycho support team was also dispatched to provide necessary counselling.

The Department has a policy of zero tolerance to bullying or any form of misconduct.

“We strongly condemn the disruption of schools and urge all stakeholders to use available structures to raise issues of concern and not to disrupt schooling.

Lost contact time is not easily recovered.

The Department continues to appeal to parents in assisting to enforce discipline in and outside the school environment,” he said.