Durban - An educational psychologist and the KwaZulu-Natal Parents’ Association have urged matric pupils to speak out about any challenges they are facing amid their final exams.
This comes after the KZN Department of Education said yesterday that a matric pupil from Umqhele Secondary School in Clermont allegedly died by suicide at home after writing her isiZulu Home Language Paper 1 on Tuesday.
KZN Department of Education MEC Mbali Frazer extended her condolences to the pupil’s family, school and community.
The department said its psychology services unit must be informed when parents, guardians and teachers came across unusual behaviour patterns in pupils, to avoid such tragedies.
Educational psychologist Professor Kobus Maree said while it was not known what happened in this incident, in general pupils in Grades 10 to 12 were inexperienced and lacked the skills to deal with challenges or stress.
He said the onus was on parents, community members and teachers to seek out vulnerable children showing signs of strain.
“Learners with no parents and those living in poverty are at a high risk of suicide. People with access to resources have a better chance of getting help, which is why it is all our responsibility to look out for a child that is silently screaming out for help.”
Maree said when teachers or parents noticed any abnormal behaviour or signs of withdrawal, help must be sought.
He added that all pupils were dealing with a number of issues apart from exam stress, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, load shedding, joblessness and poverty in their homes and lack of family support.
Maree also said the pressure on pupils to perform in the matric exams was immense and the department should consider removing the word “fail” from its vocabulary and replace it with a phrase like “have not achieved adequately/sufficiently”.
“Exams are not a do-or-die period. If you take three sittings of an exam to move on or pass, there is nothing wrong with that. The department should not use this method of comparison to measure the achievement of a child.”
Chairperson of the KZN Parents’ Association Vee Gani said children of this generation were faced with many challenges that came from all corners.
“We need to encourage them to speak up, there is always someone to listen, there are organisations and teachers that can assist. If they feel like the world is caving in on them, they should talk. We don’t want to lose any child.”
Meanwhile, the Education Department also condemned school violence after a matric pupil was stabbed to death, allegedly by a Grade 10 pupil, in Mandlenkosi High School in Ntuzuma.
Gani said he was concerned that schools had become places where children were not engaging constructively, but destructively, which at times could lead to violence.
“My concern is that schools have children who are vulnerable, while there are bullies who take advantage of that.
“Any learner who conducts themselves in such a way that causes trauma or harm should be dealt with in the harshest possible way.
“Schools should not be a place of fear, no child can learn in such an environment,” he said.
Now watch: