Court sides with parents in DHPS bullying case

"It is indeed a sad day when a court is asked to make a decision about the well-being of a child...In this case, the child&#039;s interest is at stake, and the court is primarily guided by what is in the best interest of the child."This is per a judgment issued on Friday by High Court judge Eileen Rakow on an urgent application brought by parents against the Deutsche Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS).The parents, both lawyers, argued that a teacher was bullying their 16-year-old son and that it was affecting his well-being. The school&#039;s head of administration had submitted a report to court stating that no bullying or harm was being committed against the child.They had asked the court for an order to compel the school to move their son to another grade 10 class, where he would no longer interact with the teacher in question. Their application was successful.Harmful The 16-year-old teenager has been at DHPS since kindergarten and has always been in the German stream. At the beginning of the year, he was placed in the German International Abitur (DIA) curriculum, and the school reportedly assured the parents that he would receive sufficient support in German since the parents have a limited understanding of German.The teacher against whom the application was brought had, however, expressed concerns about the child&#039;s ability to master German as a subject."She was of the opinion that the child was not good enough for DIA. She advised the parents to place him in the Cambridge (English) stream instead," the judgment read.Powerless The parents felt that the relationship between their child and the teacher had deteriorated to such an extent that his presence in her class was adversely affecting his emotional and psychological well-being.They took the child to a psychologist, who found that he was experiencing significant fear and frustration with German and history. "These subjects are taught by a teacher whom the child feels does not like him. This makes him feel anxious and powerless about his academic performance in these subjects," the psychologist&#039;s report stated.The psychologist further found that even if the child is not actually being bullied, it still contributes to his subjective experience, which dominates his reality. In her ruling, Rakow pointed out that the relationship between the child and his parents with the teacher had deteriorated to such an extent that it is unlikely to be easily repaired."The court is satisfied that the applicants [parents] have indeed made a case for interim relief by clearly demonstrating that they have a prima facie right which could potentially lead to irreparable harm if interim relief is not granted."– kristien@nmh-hub.com.na

Court sides with parents in DHPS bullying case

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Court sides with parents in DHPS bullying case

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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