South Africa has more than 25,000 schools, 23,000 of which are public schools that cater for more than 12-million learners.
According to a 2021 study, more than 58% of South African learners have encountered some form of bullying, whether it be physical, verbal, or cyber bullying, which has recently become increasingly common.
Childline SA says that bullying is very difficult for children, or anyone, to deal with.
It makes you feel afraid and degraded and often it makes a person feel like they are worthless. Unfortunately, bullying also makes you stop wanting to go out because you are scared you might see the person bullying you.
Support services at schools
Experts have stressed it is vital to have either a social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist at every school because this will ensure that learners have access to the support they need.
However, while many schools in South Africa have implemented anti-bullying programmes and campaigns, these challenges persist due to limited resources and limited support facilities .
Some provincial departments also still fail to make use of school social workers, while others employ only a few at “high-risk” schools.
Currently there are a total of 26 570 workers employed at public schools across the country. These workers include, social workers, child and youth care workers, social auxiliary workers, leaner support agents as well as care and support agents.
Schools in the Eastern Cape employ the majority of these workers with a total of 7250 psycho-social support staff members.
In Kwa-Zulu Natal there are a total of 5 652 workers providing social support to learners, and in Gauteng there are around 3 443 full time support staff at schools.
Furthermore, despite having more than one million learners across the province, the Western Cape Education Department provides the least amount of social support staff with only 732 full time staff employed, of which only 95 are social workers.
In the Northern Cape, there are 17 social workers employed by the provincial education department and in the Limpopo province there are no child and youth care workers at any schools.
Importance of social support services
Learners and teachers at underprivileged schools need various psycho-social support services to manage stress, anxiety, and exposure to violence.
Research shows that effective resourced psycho-social support services for learners will reduce the school drop-out rate, school-based bullying, and violence, and increase academic performance of learners and schools.
These services provide a safe space for learners to express their feelings, cope with challenges, and develop healthy coping mechanisms, They can also address emotional and mental health issues early on, promoting overall well-being.
In addition, there is also a dire need for more educational psychologists and counsellors that specialise with learners who have intellectual barriers, mental health challenges, and special needs.
