Farai Ntuli LinkedIn

South Africa is raising a generation under pressure and one of the clearest warning signs is what’s happening in our schools. Bullying is not a “phase” or a few isolated incidents. Multiple South African sources point to a widespread problem where more than 3.2 million learners are bullied each year, and 67% of victims don’t report it. Some estimates suggest about 160,000 learners skip school daily to avoid being bullied, and 1 in 10 learners may drop outas a result.

At the classroom level, the data is just as sobering. The HSRC has reported that 64% of South African Grade 9 learners experience bullying at least monthly (social, verbal, physical, or cyber). This is not just a learner wellbeing issue. It’s a learning outcomes issue, a mental health issue and increasingly, a moral issue.

Parents are often the first to be blamed, followed closely by teachers and school leadership. Yet most parents are not present in the peer environments where bullying thrives, and educators are increasingly overstretched with limited resources. Children today navigate complex social worlds both online and offline, where status and peer approval can reward harmful behaviour. In these spaces, cruelty can become normalised, and bystanders become participants simply by doing nothing.

The data suggests that we are not failing because we lack rules. We are failing because we lack consistent and structured values formation. Academic performance matters. But academic success alone does not produce kind, ethical, or courageous citizens our country desperately needs. Values must be intentionally taught, practiced, and reinforced over time.

This is where youth movements, particularly values-based organisations, become critical partners to families and schools. SCOUTS South Africa is one of the largest youth organisations in the country, with over 33,000 children, youth and adults nationwide, supporting young people from early childhood through to young adulthood. It is open to children (ages 5–10), teens (11–17), and youth and adults (18–30+) who want to grow, contribute, and make a positive impact in their communities.

What distinguishes Scouting is method. Scouting is built on the principle of learning by doing. Through structured programmes, outdoor activities, and positive peer environments, young people develop leadership and teamwork, self-motivation and perseverance, commitment and accountability, environmental and cultural awareness and strong personal values. Importantly, Scouting leverages positive peer pressure, a force often associated with harm, and redirects it toward service, responsibility, and growth. Rather than reacting to harmful behaviour after it occurs, Scouting works upstream by shaping the kind of character that reduces harm in the first place.

Schools are often forced into reactive mode though managing incidents, enforcing codes of conduct, and dealing with the aftermath of bullying. Youth movements like Scouting play a complementary role, one that focuses on prevention through character formation. By placing young people in environments where respect, service, and leadership are expected and modelled, Scouting helps children grow up believing not only that they can change the world, but that they should leave it better than they found it. Many South Africans who have passed through Scouting go on to become community leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and volunteers, not because Scouting guarantees success, but because it instils the values and confidence that enable it.

If we accept that the kids are not alright, then our response cannot be limited to outrage after the next incident or viral video. It must include, investing in values-driven youth development alongside formal education; supporting parents and schools with programmes that build character, not just compliance; and expanding access to structured youth movements like Scouting, particularly in under-resourced communities

We cannot discipline our way out of a values deficit. We must develop our way forward. The kids are not alright. But with intentional values formation, strong role models, and community-based youth movements like Scouting, they can be.