The department of basic education says parents and communities are not playing their part in curbing school violence which in the past week has seen a teacher shoot a man dead, a pupil stabbed to death and children going on a rampage after a pupil committed suicide following allegations of bullying.
Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga and stakeholders in the field say children are learning bad and violent behaviour from their parents and communities and bringing it to schools.
The department, Sadtu and the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) say violence in schools is a societal issue and the war needs collaborative efforts from everyone.
“These are no education matters, they are societal matters. Whenever there is a community protest schools are the first targets. Just like we saw in November during matric exams when adults decided to block the N4 and their own children could not write matric exams, we had to arrange another date.
“The children are learning from their parents that violence is the only way to communicate whatever frustrations you have. There is nothing that a school can do when the school itself is also a victim,” said Mhlanga.
On Thursday, grade 10 pupil Shawn Mphela was stabbed to death at Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan on the East Rand.
It is alleged that this fight emanated from three grade 10 pupils pepper-spraying other learners during school hours. Subsequently, about eight learners confronted them about their behaviour and they stopped.
After school, the perpetrators came to the school in the company of unknown people who are not from the school and stabbed the boy to death.
On the same day, police officers and teachers were held hostage at Tlotlisong Secondary School in Ficksburg, Free State. , after The learners were protesting against a teacher who was accused of allegedly bullying a pupil who subsequently committed suicide.
On Friday, a teacher shot and killed a man on the school's premises.
Police said the man had gained entry into the school and demanded to see the principal. He then held teachers hostage in the staffroom at Kagiso Secondary School.
Spokesperson Col Dimakatso Sello said: “According to a preliminary report, one of the teachers managed to escape and fired one shot into the air. The man charged at the [armed] teacher, stabbing him in the arm and the teacher shot him.”
Mhlanga said the solution to this requires everyone to play their part. While the schools exist to teach, pastors must do their part, community leaders, learner formations and parents must play a role in teaching values to children.
“If everybody folds their arms and says the department of education must solve these problems, it is unrealistic and disingenuous to expect an impact to be realised.”
He said schools are weapon-free zones and having any weapon at a school is illegal. He urged police to investigate the shooting.
Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cebi said the union has seen an increase in the number of reported violent cases in schools.
“We saw an increase when learners were returning to schools, particularly after Covid. Police are doing their best and it works in some instances and in some it doesn’t. But let us not place everything at government’s feet. Communities also have a role to play.”
Mhlanga said: “It is the severity of these incidents that has increased over the years with many of them becoming fatal.”
NASGB general secretary Matakanye Matakanye said
schools were not the only place where children could be fixed.
“Everyone must do something. Some parents cannot control their children, but these parents must be responsible enough to involve everyone – social workers, the school, police...”
Soweto activist Nhlanhla Lux, whose school cleanup campaign has been widely criticised on social media for its tough no-nonsense approach on children, said schools are riddled with weapons and drugs, with pupils as young as 12 being found with drugs.
“The youngest learner we have found with drugs was in grade 3. Primary schoolchildren carry knives and they form gangs within the school. We have found guns, knives and drugs during raids at schools.
“...incidents of teachers being assaulted by learners who carry out acts of violence to earn a rank in the gang...
“We will be rolling out the programme in other provinces. We will be bringing in sniffer dogs so we can fight elements of crime in our schools, which should be places to learn.”
Mhlanga said the department has anti-bullying and anti-school violence campaigns led by deputy president David Mabuza in conjunction with several other ministers.
“We go to various schools and engage the SGB on how to work with parents, because the violence issue is a behavioural issue children bring from home to school. We believe that parents need to play an active role in teaching values to their children...”
sibiyan@sowetan.co.za
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