Education
(a) How many cases of learner (i) suicide, (ii) attempted suicide and (iii) serious self-harm were reported to his Department in the last financial year, (b) what mental health and suicide-prevention programmes are currently implemented by his Department, (c) for each programme in (b) above, what is the (i) number of schools reached and (ii) budget allocated in the last financial year, (d) what formal partnerships does his Department have with other departments to support learner mental health and (e) what training or guidance is provided to educators and school management teams to identify and to respond to learners at risk of self-harm?
The Department of Health and Wellness is the authority that records and verifies deaths, and therefore holds the more accurate provincial data on confirmed suicides.
The information below reflects only cases reported to the Safe Schools hotline, and only incidents that occurred on school premises during the 2025/26 financial year:
(i) Suicide: No cases of learner suicide on school premises were reported.
(ii) Attempted suicide:
31 alleged incidents were reported on school premises. Note that the confirmation of these incidents as attempted suicide is not within the mandate of the WCED.
(iii) Serious self-harm:
The WCED does not record self-harm as a separate statistical category, and these incidents therefore cannot be disaggregated separately from broader behavioural or emergency reports.
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(b) The WCED implements a range of ongoing mental health, wellness and suicide prevention programmes, delivered through direct support and preventative interventions. These include:
• Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programmes
• Child protection and trauma-support initiatives
• Learner pregnancy and vulnerability-reduction programmes
• Substance-abuse prevention
• Gender-based violence prevention
• Individual and group psychosocial support, counselling and referrals
• Workshops, awareness campaigns, infographics and preventative education
The WCED’s suicide prevention work is not isolated but integrated across its broader learner-wellness, safety and psychosocial-support frameworks, which include:
• District Support Teams
• School safety and crisis-response mechanisms
• Behavioural support and anti-bullying programmes
• Promotion of wellbeing and resilience
• Inter-sectoral collaboration with health and social-development partners
(c)
(i) Given the nature of district-based support, all schools in the province may be considered reached through some combination of counselling, crisis intervention, targeted group programmes, teacher support workshops, or mental-health promotion activities.
(ii) There is no dedicated or ring-fenced budget exclusively for suicide-prevention programmes. These services are funded through:
• District operational budgets, which provide for psychosocial support and learner-wellness services as part of the broader service package delivered by district teams; and
• The HIV/AIDS Life Skills Education Grant, which funds preventative and resilience-building programmes, life-skills training, mental-health promotion, capacity building for educators, and awareness initiatives aimed at reducing learner vulnerabilities, including susceptibility to self-harm and suicidal behaviour.
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Thus, while not funded through a standalone budget line, suicide prevention activities are fully integrated and resourced through existing district and grant-funded preventative frameworks.
(d) The WCED maintains formal and ongoing partnerships with:
• The Department of Health and Wellness
• The Department of Social Development
• The South African Police Service (SAPS)
• Other community-based and specialised service organisations
A defined referral and support pathway exists between these departments and the WCED to ensure coordinated responses, including access to clinical services, protection interventions, trauma support and crisis management.
(e) Teachers and School Management Teams receive ongoing training, support and guidance through district Support Teams. This includes:
• Training on emotional well-being and resilience
• Trauma-informed practices
• Identifying early signs of psychological distress or risk behaviour
• Behaviour and well-being programmes that include protocols for responding to learners at risk
• Guidance on crisis response, escalation procedures and mandatory reporting
• Referral pathways linking schools to specialised district, health and social-development support services
