A Grade 10 pupil at Salt River High School was attacked in an alleged bullying incident at the school following months of threats from her peers.
Speaking to Refilwe Moloto, Western Cape Education Department director of communications Bronagh Hammond says both pupils involved have been asked to stay at home.
Hammond says the ongoing investigations show that the girl who was attacked had classroom responsibilities.
Both learners have been asked to stay at home because of fact that when the learners were both there it sparked a protest action at the school.
— Bronagh Hammond, Director of Communications – Western Cape Education Department
The learner was a class monitor for quite a while and she was correctly putting down attendance levels of the learners involved and a few of the girls were getting agitated about this and that is where the tension arose.
— Bronagh Hammond, Director of Communications – Western Cape Education Department
Hammond says they will be investigating the xenophobia reports.
The learner that was attacked is from another African country and the other learners involved are from South Africa but that does not generally mean it could be xenophobia.
— Bronagh Hammond, Director of Communications – Western Cape Education Department
The school has been supportive of the girl who was attacked.
But I do think we need to provide her with trauma and social counselling support because she has gone through quite an ordeal.
— Bronagh Hammond, Director of Communications – Western Cape Education Department
Source of the notice: http://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/359664/wc-education-investigating-alleged-xenophobic-attack-at-salt-river-school
Australia’s most populous state said it will ax a Chinese-funded education program that teaches Mandarin in schools amid fears over potential foreign influence.
The Confucius Institute program – administered by the Chinese government agency Hanban – teaches China’s official language in 13 public schools across New South Wales (NSW).
However, the NSW government said in a review issued late on Thursday that, while it found no specific evidence of interference, it was improper for the program to continue.
“The review found, however, a number of specific factors that could give rise to the perception that the Confucius Institute is or could be facilitating inappropriate foreign influence in the department,” the review said.
The government report said NSW was the only state government worldwide to have such a program and that the arrangement also placed Chinese government appointees inside the NSW education department.
The Chinese embassy in Canberra did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the program would be replaced by Mandarin classes run by the state government.
Australia has in recent years sought to increase the teaching of Mandarin in schools in a bid to strengthen ties with its largest trading partner.
The removal of the program comes amid heightened concerns about Chinese activities in Australia and the neighboring Pacific region and a souring of relations in recent years.
In 2017, then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull accused China of meddling in Australia’s domestic affairs, a charge that Beijing denies.
Australia then further alienated China last year when it essentially banned the technology giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network, citing national security risks.
China criticized that move as being politically motivated and urged Australia to abandon what it described as a Cold War mentality.
Australia has also moved in recent months to push back against China’s quest for greater influence in the Pacific.
Canberra fears Chinese lending in the region could undermine the sovereignty of small Pacific countries and has moved to increase economic aid and its diplomatic presence in the region.
At the same time, Australia has experienced disruption to its coal exports to China, including customs delays. China denies that Australian trade is being hampered because of bilateral tensions.
Source of the notice: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-china-education/australian-state-ends-chinese-education-program-over-foreign-interference-fears-idUSKCN1VD009
Students need support, but religious commitment does not equate to professional counselling
ince Trump’s election in the US new legislative measures aim to impose hardline Christian values across US society as part of Project Blitz. The Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF), which claims more than 600 politicians as members across state legislatures, is using the banner of “religious freedom” to impose Christianity on American public, political and cultural life.
Sound familiar? The In Australia, the Human Rights Commission had been asked to investigate the National School Chaplaincy Programme (NSCP) earlier this year, but declined on the grounds Philip Ruddock was already reviewing the country’s religious freedoms for the government.
While the NSCP is formally not religion-specific, 99% of chaplains are Christian while only 52% of Australians identified as Christian in the 2016 census.
Who runs the chaplaincy programs? How are they selected?
In 2014, the Abbott government removed the provision to fund secular student wellbeing officers introduced by the previous Labor government, meaning all chaplains had to be affiliated with a religion. Following the invalidation of NSCP by the high court in June 2014, the government redesigned NSCP, with funding now being delivered via states and territories rather than directly to schools
In 2018, there were 3,288 chaplains employed under NSCP in public and private schools so far costing the taxpayer almost $1b. Chaplains are sourced by and from various Christian church groups. These all have a Christian mission. Scripture Union Queensland, for instance, the largest provider of school chaplains in Australia, proclaims that “Our MISSION is to bring God’s love, hope and good news to children and young people”.
Critics of the NSCP argue that chaplains are seriously under-qualified to deal with vulnerable young people, that it is not appropriate to have a religious worker in a public school, and that the money spent on the programme is better needed elsewhere, such as to help children with disabilities.
The Australian Psychological Society has repeatedly criticised the NSCP. The director of the Black Dog Institute has expressed concern at the funding of chaplaincy over programmes backed by scientific evidence. Associate professor Andrea Reupert, director of Monash University’s mental health in schools’ project, described a chaplain’s comments to a student suffering from an eating disorder that she was “hungering for the word of the Lord” as inappropriate and appalling. Even the vice chancellor of the School of Divinity questions its propriety.
What are chaplains not meant to do?
The NSCP is clear that chaplains must not take advantage of their privileged position to proselytise, evangelise or advocate for a religious view or belief or perform professional or other services for which they are not qualified.
They may not conduct religious services or ceremonies or lead students or staff in religious observances or deliver special religious instruction. There is considerable evidence that at least some chaplains are in breach of this directive.
Parents must give their prior consent to the provision of chaplaincy services to their child. There is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that this is often not the case.
What are the outcomes of the NSCP?
School chaplains or professional counsellors: If schools only had a choice
89% of school chaplains are employed in lower SES state schools. These under-resourced schools are glad to have any extra assistance. The websitesof the various state education departments are quite clear about their duties. Schools engage chaplains to support the educational, social and emotional wellbeing of students. According to a review by the National School Chaplaincy Association the issues that chaplains were confronted with more frequently included “behaviour management issues”, “peer relationships and loneliness”, “student-family relationship issues” and “grief and loss”. These are undoubtedly serious issues that students require help with. The question is: Should it be chaplains providing that help?
Your child has appendicitis. If given a choice between an unqualified but very empathetic and dedicated first-aider, and a fully qualified doctor, who would you choose to operate on your child?
As Professor Dennis Altman wrote, “our secular society is being eroded – one school child at a time”. We should either remake school chaplaincy as a proper welfare program or scrap it.
Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/21/chaplains-or-counsellors-schools-should-have-a-choice
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