On Monday August 30, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil who also happened to be the same age as the victim and was in the same class. Nothing is as painful as sending your child to school only to receive a call to go to the school to identify the body of your child who left home in the morning happy, healthy and full of life.
Schools are no longer safe, and my heart bleeds for the family of the deceased boy. As a mother, when you send your children to school what you expect is positive results, good grades etc.
You want them to do well at school so they can be something in the future, we want our kids to impact the world positively. Our kids also have dreams, they want to change situations at home, they want to become life changers but their dreams are cut short by fellow pupils.
Bullying has become a serious problem in SA and the worst thing about it is that it often results in the death of a pupil; children are the future of this country and today, one of the life changers was stabbed to death. The loss is not only felt by the family or the school but the country as a whole.
It is disheartening that a place that is supposed to provide safety to our kids has become so dangerous that you get scared when your child leaves for school and relieved when they make it back home in one piece.
At this point, the criminal justice system is not enough because pupils continue to be bullied, resulting in homicide or suicide. What we need right now is strong measures to prevent these practices from further occurring.
It is also vital that fellow pupils report bullying of any kind on behalf of the victim because what gives the perpetrator more power to continue is the cheering they receive from those pupils who are watching as it happens. Schools are a second home for children; unfortunately it is also a place where slaying takes place.
I don't even want to imagine receiving the news that my child has stabbed a fellow pupil to death, it's heartbreaking. No parent deserves to bury their kids and no parent deserves to have a 16-year-old locked up in jail, but it is what it is.
Schools can also start programmes that will educate pupils about the dangers of bullying, and all pupils must be encouraged to participate in it. It will not end bullying but it will minimise it; it might even help victims to speak up.
The department of basic education must enforce laws that force pupils to abide by the programmes and consequences must be harsh, no matter how light the incident of bullying was, because everything starts light, then escalates.
During our time, bullying was not reported and it was almost like it never existed, but these days they even record it and post in on social media like a normal thing. Parents must also intervene. Check your child’s phone more often, check their school bags and also advise and tell your child the importance of journalling.
This way, even if they can’t talk about it with you, they will write about it. It will be easier for you as a parent to see what is bothering them at school and also at home.
• Mathebula is a Sowetan reader
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