Premised on a reported surge in harmful traditional, cultural and religious practices within schools, a research study was conducted to investigate the causes and prevalence of these practices. Some reported incidences include learners hallucinating, fainting during assembly proceedings, spiritual intimidation by other learners, and ancestral calling experiences.

Following the research findings of the study, a stakeholder meeting involving School Governing Body Associations, teacher unions, provincial and districts officials and academics was convened on 14 November 2024, to discuss the results of the study, and to collaboratively develop strategies aimed at mitigating the potential harm of the practices in schools. The meeting was held at the DBE Conference Centre in Pretoria.

Dr Granville Whittle, DDG of Branch S: Care and Support welcomed all participants to the meeting and acknowledged the presence of participants from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of Pretoria (UP), and the University of South Africa (UNISA), and members of School Governing Bodies (SGB’s). He further thanked officials from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for their generosity in funding the research study, which was commissioned in 2023 in two Provinces, namely, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, due to the high prevalence of these practices in their schools. He further reported that the research report had been approved by the Council of Education Ministers, paving the way for the launch of the report. He underscored the need for a Task Team comprising of interested parties’ officials from the DBE, Provinces, Universities and SGB’s, to collaboratively develop Guidelines to help schools effectively manage this phenomenon.

Ms Mahan from UJ presented the research findings. She indicated that strange behaviours by learners such as screaming, falling, and hallucinations triggered by traditional, religious and cultural practices were observed in schools during the study. Such behaviours tend to leave learners isolated – for instance, some learners are quoted as saying that “unfortunately some of my peers get scared and avoid me….” This in turn leads to feelings of isolation, being misunderstood, which is painful for me”. She further stated that these behaviours had psychological harm on learners and impacted negatively on their performance at school. She also presented an overview on recommendations of the study, stating a need for policy reform, to ensure inclusivity, legal compliance with National and International standards on religious rights of children, and in-service training for educators on creating inclusive teaching and learning environments in schools.

A participant from UNISA commended the DBE on the ground-breaking study. On a different note, she raised a concern about the topic of the research, which focused on harmful traditional, cultural and religious practices in schools, and raised an issue in terms of the practices being regarded as harmful. However, Dr Mpofu from UP, responded by indicating that harmful practices in this context were incidents that were having a negative impact on teaching and learning in schools.

In his closing remarks, Mr Sifiso Ngobese, the Director of School Safety expressed his gratitude and commended the research team’s field workers for their sterling work throughout the research study. He also thanked all other participants for their diligence in compiling the study. He further reiterated Dr Whittle’s call for a Task Team composed of interested parties to collaboratively develop Guidelines that would assist and guide schools on managing traditional, cultural and religious practices in schools.