Milnerton High School: Parliamentary Committees Uncover a Culture of Bullying and Teacher Negligence
- Parliamentary committees visited Milnerton High School in Cape Town following a viral bullying incident
- The school has been in the spotlight after a video went viral showing a Grade 10 pupil being assaulted
- The committees are worried about the level of bullying within schools, noting that there was a rise in reported cases
Source: Twitter
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
WESTERN CAPE – The assault of a Grade 10 pupil at Milnerton High School is not an isolated incident, Parliament’s Social Services Cluster oversight committees found.
The Social Services Cluster, which includes various government departments, including both Basic Education and Higher Education, conducted a visit to the school following the assault of a 16-year-old by a group of older boys.
The incident reportedly occurred on 16 October 2025, but only made headlines later when a video of the incident went viral.
In the video, the older learners could be seen assaulting the Grade 10 learner with a variety of objects.
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Committees find a culture of bullying at Milnerton High
During a press briefing before Parliament on 27 October 2025, the committees stated that they discovered a culture of bullying at the school.
Joy Maimela, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, expressed concern about the situation at the school, adding that one teacher allegedly turned a blind eye to the situation.
“Overall, we noted that there was a culture of bullying in the school, and to a certain extent, there is a coach of a certain rugby team who we believe also enables such.
“There are incidents that have been reported to him, according to what we understand, and there were no actions. There was a previous incident reported to the school, and the school could not account for what they did with it,” Maimela noted.
Committees concerned by a rise in bullying cases
Maimela also noted that they were deeply concerned by the number of bullying incidents reported in all schools across the country.
“Education cannot thrive in an environment of fear, and a learner who feels unsafe cannot learn while a teacher who fears discipline cannot teach effectively,” she said.
Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences and Creative Industries, Makhi Feni, said the matter couldn’t be treated as just bullying, as their view was that it was a “continuation of racist acts that continue in our schools.”
He added that if nothing was done to address this, the committee feared that they would be in an uncontrollable situation in the country.
“It can’t be treated as mere bullying. We need to go beyond that particular situation,” he said.
Source: Twitter
What you need to know about the incident:
- The Education Portfolio Committee called for swift and decisive action from all authorities investigating the matter.
- Gayton McKenzie called for the learners implicated in the incident to be punished so that they would learn a lesson.
- A registered social worker shared her thoughts about the precautionary suspension handed down to the implicated learners.
- Police used stun grenades to disperse a crowd protesting outside Milnerton High School in the wake of the incident.
- Six of the eight learners who were arrested for the alleged assault appeared in court and were granted bail.
- An education activist claimed that teachers knew about the bullying at the school and turned a blind eye.
Mother of an alleged bully defends her son
Briefly News reported that the mother of one Milnerton High School learner defended her son.
The mother claimed that there were two sides to the story, after angry parents called for action to be taken.
Eight learners have been charged after a viral video showed them assaulting a Grade 10 pupil.
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Source: Briefly News
