Durban - A Mpophomeni councillor, under the uMngeni Local Municipality (Howick), has expressed fear for teachers after a random raid at a local high school last week saw the recovery of drugs and weapons.
Ward 11 councillor Thulani Mthalane said the raid at Asibemunye High School, which involved local police and members of the Community Policing Forum was prompted by the stabbing of a pupil by a fellow pupil two weeks ago.
“We realised that if we do not act swiftly the situation would get out of control, so we conducted the raid last Friday,” said Mthalane.
The discovery of drugs and weapons, the councillor added, did not come as a surprise. Among the items found were cigarettes, dagga joints, alcohol and knives. “The only thing that is missing now is guns. My fear is for teachers because at this rate, teachers could get stabbed for applying disciplinary measures against unruly learners. Our schools have become war zones,” Mthalane said.
He conceded that the township had had a problem with gangsterism for years, but expressed fear that it had now reached schools.
“In the past, there has been a problem of 26 and 28 gangs who were battling for territory, but now it is a real problem because it is in our schools,” said the councillor.
KwaZulu-Natal Education Department spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa commended the Mpophomeni community for the role played, saying they were hoping that such an attitude could spread to all parts of the province.
He expressed concern that drug kingpins were targeting schools for drug trafficking.
“The fact of the matter is that drugs and gangsterism are social ills which need to be tackled by the community, because our role as the department is to ensure that only teaching and learning takes place at school.
“Our hope is that kingpins can be arrested and made to pay for what they are doing to our learners,” Mthethwa concluded
Education portfolio committee chairperson Sifiso Sonjica said they were worried about the emerging trend of drug peddling and gangsterism at schools and urged the Department of Education to do more to deal with the problem.
“Firstly we must commend the councillor and the local leadership for embarking on such an initiative, and we hope the department will explore creative ways to deal with the problem because it is found in many parts of the province,” said Sonjica.
He cited an incident in which a pupil from the North Coast had been killed by a fellow pupil, saying this was becoming a regular occurrence.
“Our suspicion is that schools are becoming territories for drug trafficking and learners are being used as merchants, and this creates an environment for rivalry in the form of gangs to mushroom and thrive,” the chairperson said.