Durban - A teacher is in a stable condition in hospital after being shot during a robbery at Buhlebethu Primary School in Inanda on Wednesday.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said two men and a young boy had arrived at the school in Inanda Newtown C at about noon and told a security guard they had come to register him at the school.
“The security guard took the two men to the principal in the staff room. They then started to rob the teachers, pointing a firearm at them. They took a laptop and cellphones. As they were leaving, they bumped into another teacher who was passing by and shot him twice in the abdomen,” Mbele said.
Mbele said police have arrested four suspects aged between 19 and 21. They will be charged with attempted murder and robbery and are expected to appear in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court soon.
Buhlebethu Primary School governing body chairperson, Mduduzi Ngcobo, said he thanked God that the teacher who was shot was recovering in hospital. He alleged that some of the suspects were former pupils of the school.
“We urged the Education Department to increase security at the school,” said Ngcobo.
Ngcobo said cameras had earlier been installed because of the high crime rate in the community.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa provincial chief executive, Thirona Moodley, said the union was concerned about ongoing violence at schools.
“Teachers who feel unsafe can never be productive in the classrooms,” he said.
KZN head of Department of
Education, Enoch Nzama, visited the school yesterday.
“Our teachers are regarded as parents when at school. We are touched by this horrific incident, which happened in front of our learners,” Nzama said.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Education, Kwazi Mshengu, condemned the
shooting. He said he had visited the teacher in hospital.
“This is one of our best secured schools because it is properly fenced and also has CCTV cameras,” he said.
In a separate incident, a pupil stabbed another at Old Mill Secondary School in Empangeni yesterday. The pupil was taken to hospital and a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was opened.