Bullying and gangsterism have been plaguing some schools in the Northern Cape.

Now the South African Taekwondo Federation in Kimberley has partnered with the Provincial Department of Education to train and teach primary school Martial Arts and self-defence in an effort to tackle bullying in schools.

Children go through a lot that parents are not always able to protect them from, on a daily basis.

But now self-defence classes have been brought to boost learner’s confidence and hopefully help get rid of the bullying.

This initiative is already in full swing in Kimberley and learners at Roodepan Primary school are excited about the programme.

Teachers say there is no one-size-fits-all solution to resolving bullying incidents and this is because cases are different.

Roodepan Primary School Principal Steve Drude says:”We do experience a lot of bullying in our school, it’s a huge challenge, seeing that the children are coming from different backgrounds and different households, they find it difficult to respect each other’s rights.”

The programme is comprehensive and includes lessons on how to deal with conflict.

SATF Vice-President David Kof says:”We incorporated Taekwondo with life orientation to assist the kids with understanding what self-defence is and what the martial arts is and how to use it, in order to curb their bullying.”

“We speak to them and give them informative sessions whereby they learn how to work and play together to cancel out the issue of bullying”

The department of education is making arrangements to ensure that the programme continues until September.

(Source: SABC News)