Durban - The regular presence of police at schools increased mistrust and undermined respect for authority, the Basic Education Department told parliament’s portfolio committee on education on Tuesday.
Admitting that violence at schools was “common”, the department argued that while certain measures to address violence might seem intuitive or promising, there was no substantial research evidence which proved that they worked in the long term.
The latest “General Household Survey: Focus on Schooling” report to be released by the department showed that children in KwaZulu-Natal were more likely to experience violence, verbal abuse and corporal punishment at school than pupils living in seven other provinces in the country.
The data, released last month, revealed that 24% of KZN children aged 7 to 18 had endured violence, verbal abuse and corporal punishment at school.
The department also on Tuesday shared the findings of extensive research conducted by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention which was released in 2013.
That study revealed that 22% of high school pupils had been threatened with violence, or had been the victim of an assault, robbery or sexual assault at school in the year preceding the study.
It also showed that one in five pupils were cyberbullied, that the classroom was primarily where violence and victimisation played out and teachers were often targeted by pupils for verbal and physical abuse.
The stance of the national department is that any attempts to curb violence at a school need to extend beyond its gates.
The support of parents and the community where the school is located are the “most reliable and cost-effective” ways to support school safety.
Together, the department and the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention have developed a guide for principals, school management teams, governing bodies, teachers and pupils to identify and report on risks and threats at school.
The department is also working on a national anti-bullying and behaviour change campaign.
Of the Grade 4 pupils surveyed in the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, just over half of the South African participants said they were bullied weekly at school.
The study, released late in 2012, confirmed growing evidence that school bullying was on the rise, and that it had a negative effect on how well pupils did at school.
Measures used to address violence which proved ineffective:
* Armed security guards who had no effect in identifying and mediating potential conflict.
* Zero tolerance of drugs, alcohol and violence which marginalised “problematic” pupils and failed to address the root causes of their behaviour.
Instead, effective evidence-based strategies to prevent school violence included:
* Reducing class sizes.
* Training teachers to identify ‘at risk’ pupils, and on classroom and behaviour management.
* Building relationships between schools, parents and community leaders.
* Increasing access to social workers and counsellors.
The Mercury