Honourable Speaker,
The African Christian Democratic Party welcomes the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education’s swift intervention and reporting on the bullying incident of the 16th of October 2025 at the Milnerton High School.
The video footage widely circulated on social media depicted a Grade 10 learner being physically and verbally assaulted by his peers, eliciting the nation’s horror and concern at this shocking behaviour.
The ACDP has consistently argued that bullying is not merely a disciplinary matter, but a moral crisis that undermines the dignity and the safety of learners.
As ACDP, we therefore call for three urgent steps:
Firstly, there needs to be clear, enforceable anti-bullying policies in every school, with transparent reporting mechanisms. In this regard, the ACDP fully supports the OUTA Moral Courage Recognition Programme that honours individuals in South Africa who demonstrate integrity by exposing corruption, abuse of power and whistleblowing, and in this case, bullying.
Secondly, the ACDP calls for immediate psychosocial support: firstly for the victims and then the perpetrators alike; recognising the long-term trauma caused by such incidents.
Thirdly, we call for strong consequences management against the relevant officials, educators and governing bodies who fail to protect learners from bullying.
As Kingdom Builders, the ACDP believes that we have a ministry of reconciliation—not tearing down through bullying. We believe that school ethics should promote standards and values by which we differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. And clearly, bullying is wrong.
The ACDP supports this report. I thank you.
