School bullying: When a classroom becomes a place of fear for learners

• The consequences can extend far beyond academic performance, leaving lasting emotional scars.

A number of organisations in the United States recognise October as a Bullying Awareness Month. It is considered a time to highlight the impact of bullying on children’s safety, mental health and education.

In schools, bullying can take many forms, including humiliation, intimidation and abuse of authority by those entrusted with learners’ care.

But when a classroom becomes a place of fear, the consequences can extend far beyond academic performance, leaving lasting emotional scars.

A learner who once enjoyed mathematics begins to fear the subject. They study harder but struggle to understand lessons, avoid asking questions and watch their confidence fade.

What may appear to be poor academic performance could conceal years of humiliation by someone entrusted with teaching them.

For mental health author Gakuru Githinji, this is not hypothetical. He says a mathematics teacher disliked his appearance, the way he walked and how he spoke when he was in secondary school.

Despite spending considerable time studying, he struggled with the subject throughout his four years in secondary school.

Looking back as an adult, Githinji says he understands how fear affected his ability to learn. The experience also left him carrying anger he struggled to understand for years.

In her analysis of bullying in schools, Christine Ombima a primary school teacher and counsellor in Utawala Nairobi, argues that the problem goes beyond ordinary disagreements among learners, particularly when humiliation comes from a teacher.

“Bullying is not a simple disagreement between children or an unpleasant experience that a learner must learn to endure,” Ombima reiterates.

“Repeated humiliation and intimidation can undermine a learner’s confidence, interfere with their emotional wellbeing and their ability to learn and relate with their peers.”

In Kenya, bullying is sometimes dismissed as ordinary childhood behaviour, with parents telling children to toughen up or defend themselves. Ombima warns that such attitudes can allow harmful behaviour to continue unchecked.

“When a teacher humiliates a learner, most of the times we justify it as discipline, and we push this narrative that harsh treatment builds character,” she adds.

But the consequences may extend beyond the classroom, affecting a learner’s confidence, mental wellbeing and willingness to participate in lessons.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s PISA 2025 results, 55% of students surveyed in Kenya reported experiencing at least one form of bullying a few times a month or more.

The findings also indicate that 13% reported upsetting information about them being published online without their consent at least a few times a month.

Across Africa, a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 studies involving 41,716 school-aged adolescents estimated that 46.35% had experienced bullying. Researchers also found associations between bullying victimisation and current substance use, loneliness and worry.

The pooled estimate varies across settings and should not be interpreted as a uniform rate for every African country.

The relationship between bullying and substance use is an important part of the conversation because some young people may turn to alcohol or other substances to cope with emotional pain.

Sunday Ndunguru Kapesi, an addiction recovery coach, counsellor in training and mental health advocate, says the behaviour should be understood in the context of the distress a person may be trying to manage.

“Sometimes, the substance is not the original problem; it becomes the solution a hurting person discovers before they find a healthier one,” Kapesi says.

He explains that a teenager who experiences repeated humiliation may begin using alcohol to temporarily ease anxiety, feel more confident or cope with rejection. If that relief reinforces repeated use, substance use can become an additional problem.

Psychologists describe this pattern as negative reinforcement, where a behaviour becomes more likely because it temporarily removes an unpleasant feeling.

However, bullying does not inevitably lead to addiction, and addiction has multiple possible causes. The concern is that unresolved distress and harmful coping strategies may compound one another, making early support important.

“My own recovery journey has taught me that addressing addiction requires looking beyond the behaviour to the person beneath it. We must ask not only, ‘What are you using?’ but also, ‘What are you trying to cope with?’” Kapesi says.

For Mwongela Rhoda, a certified mental health advocate, adults need to recognise changes in children’s behaviour and give them opportunities to speak about what they are experiencing.

A child who suddenly becomes withdrawn, fears going to school, repeatedly complains of headaches or stomach aches, or experiences a decline in academic performance may be showing signs of distress.

These signs do not prove bullying is occurring, but they warrant attention and a sensitive conversation.

“Do not wait until your child has completely broken up,” Rhoda says, urging parents to listen and avoid blaming children who may be struggling.

Kapesi also warns that silence should not automatically be interpreted as a sign that a child is coping.

“Silence is not always a sign that someone is okay; sometimes it is a sign that they no longer believe anyone will listen,” he says.

Children may fear retaliation, being labelled weak or being disbelieved.

When the alleged perpetrator is a teacher, they may also worry that reporting the behaviour will affect their grades or relationships with other teachers.

Ombima argues that children should not bear the responsibility of ending the bullying they experience.

“This is why telling children to simply speak up is not enough. We must create systems in which speaking up is safe,” she writes.

Such systems should include trusted adults, accessible reporting channels and protection from intimidation or retaliation.

Complaints should be investigated fairly, with appropriate support provided to affected learners.

Kenya’s Children Act, 2022, provides a legal framework for safeguarding children’s rights, including their right to basic education and protection from discrimination.

This makes learner safety an institutional responsibility rather than simply a matter of individual resilience.

Bullying can also affect children who already experience stigma or exclusion because of disabilities. Protecting their right to education requires more than access to a classroom; it requires an environment where they can participate without humiliation or discrimination.

Ombima challenges schools to examine whether they are addressing the cause of a learner’s distress or simply expecting the child to cope.

“Counselling supports recovery. Accountability addresses the behavior. Neither should be used as a substitute for the other,” she writes.

Schools therefore need clear reporting procedures, impartial investigations, appropriate disciplinary measures where allegations are substantiated and follow-up to prevent recurrence.

Teacher training in positive discipline, disability inclusion and child safeguarding is also important.

Kapesi says understanding the circumstances of a child who bullies others can help adults intervene more effectively, without excusing the behaviour.

“A person’s pain may explain their behaviour; it does not remove their responsibility for it,” he says.

This approach requires schools to protect the child who has been harmed while ensuring that allegations are investigated fairly and that learners responsible for bullying receive appropriate guidance and consequences.

For children and young people already struggling with emotional distress or substance use, recovery may require more than stopping a harmful behaviour.

Kapesi says professional support and trusted relationships can help people understand emotional triggers, develop healthier coping strategies and rebuild confidence.

“Recovery is not simply learning to stop a harmful behaviour; it is learning how to live with yourself, your emotions and your experiences without being destroyed by them,” he says.

Depending on an individual's needs, support may include counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, relapse-prevention strategies and assessment by qualified health professionals. Family members, mentors, counsellors and supportive peers can also help create a sense of belonging.

For Githinji, adults must look beyond a child’s anger or apparent disobedience and consider what may be driving the behaviour.

“Children are not evil. Children are not bad,” Githinji says, urging parents and school administrators to listen and investigate the source of a child’s distress.

Ombima argues that a safe school must offer more than good examination results. Learners should be able to make mistakes, seek help and report harm without fear of humiliation or retaliation.

“Our children should not have to sacrifice their mental well-being to earn an education,” Ombima concludes.

Protecting that right requires parents to listen, teachers to guide without degrading learners and school authorities to investigate concerns and hold people accountable when wrongdoing is established.

A safe school is not simply one where bullying goes unreported. It is one where learners trust that speaking up will lead to protection, a fair response and meaningful action.