The DBE through the School Safety Directorate, Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC), e-Learning, Life Orientation Curricula, Education Management, Governance and Development (EMGD), Social Cohesion, and Inclusive Education Directorates, continues to convene training workshops on Online Safety for educators across provinces, with the latest workshop held in Kempton Park, in the Gauteng Province from 19 to 21 May 2025.

This was the fourth provincial training workshop convened by the DBE and its partners, which include UNESCO, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, the Film and Publication Board (FPB), Google and the AGAPE Youth Movement. The other workshops were held in the North West, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga Provinces.

The Gauteng workshop was attended by 150 educators and officials from Ekurhuleni North, Ekurhuleni South and Gauteng East Districts and was aimed at addressing challenges related to online safety and the responsible use of digital technologies in the classroom. The workshop equipped frontline officials such as teachers, subject advisors and stakeholders with tools to empower learners and parents with knowledge about digital literacy and online safety.

Teachers were empowered on the Online Safety Curriculum Guideline that comprises of lessons in Grades 8 to 12, with clear learning outcomes for each grade. Some of the topics include: ways to be safe online; the importance of creating usernames and strong passwords; appropriate ways of communicating online; and understanding cyberbullying and ways to address it. According to the Guideline, learners should be able to state the meaning of online safety in their own words, be able to distinguish between personal and non-personal information and practice safe browsing on the Internet.

The Director for School Safety, Mr Sifiso Ngobese, highlighted the importance of this programme by saying that, “most learners in our schools have access to the Internet; the DBE therefore has the responsibility to empower them to be safe on online platforms and have good digital footprints”.

UNESCO’s National Coordinator, Dr Salome Sigida, reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment towards supporting the Department in implementing programmes in schools to become safe learning environments.  

The next Online Safety Integrated Training will take place in the Free State Province later this month.