Over the past two days, Parliament's portfolio committee on basic education has noted with grave concern that there are issues involving gangsterism at most of the schools it has visited in the Western Cape.
The committee noted with concern the latest media reports after a Grade 10 learner at Bonteheuwel High School was injured by a stray bullet yesterday.
According to reports, the bullet went through a classroom window and hit the pupil in the leg.
Committee chairperson Nomalungelo Gina condemned the violence in the strongest possible terms.
“Our learners should be in a safe environment, where they can focus on education in an attempt to better their lives and not fear for them.
"All stakeholders should work together to ensure an environment that is conducive to learning and teaching,” she said.
Over the past two days, the committee visited several schools around the Cape metro and in Langa, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Manenberg. Principals and teachers had raised concerns about gangsterism.
The committee heard that although fights did not generally start inside the school grounds, they had a tendency to spill over and manifest themselves in the form of revenge attacks.
The committee was told yesterday that in one school, four pupils had already lost their lives since the start of the year due to such attacks.
Even primary school pupils are not spared and the committee heard that last year a Grade 7 pupil was shot and killed over a weekend.
Gina made a plea to all the parties involved to come up with a plan to address this as pupils should not fear for their safety either in or out of the school grounds.
“To keep up to date with the work of Parliament, please go to the daily parliamentary papers: parliamentary programme, order papers, minutes of proceedings, ATCs, question papers, internal question papers.
"Youths are our future. We cannot play with their lives or allow outside elements to put them at risk.”
The committee continues with its oversight visit in the Western Cape tomorrow with visits to schools in the Cape Winelands area of Paarl.