Thirty stabbing incidents on school grounds were reported to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) in the first two quarters of the school year.
In 19 of the cases, a pupil was stabbed by another pupil, in 10 cases a resident stabbed a pupil and in one case a pupil stabbed a resident.
In 11 of these cases, minor injuries had been sustained, 18 had been considered serious cases and one had been fatal, said Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for Education MEC Donald Grant.
Raylinn Fortuin died in February after he was stabbed at Beauvallon High in Valhalla Park.
In addition, 17-year-old Allan Manuel died after he was stabbed outside the gates of Kasselsvlei High in Bellville earlier this week.
Casey said the WCED had put a large amount of its resources into securing schools.
She said that in many cases, the incidents of violence were gang-related.
“The reality is that in the Western Cape, unlike other provinces, we are faced with the scourge of gangsterism… in communities where gangsterism is prominent, it can sometimes spill into our schools.”
The WCED, police and the provincial Department of Community Safety are working with pupils, parents and community organisations to address gangsterism.
“We have increased our anti-gang interventions at schools where there has been a rise in gang-related activities, including programmes that focus on conflict management and substance abuse.
“We will also be increasing the programmes that enable educators to manage conflict in their schools.”
Casey said R24.2 million had been allocated to the Safe Schools programme for the 2012/13 period, an increase of R1.2m over the previous financial year.
The Safe Schools call centre, where children can lodge complaints or request assistance and are referred to school social workers, psychologists and/or external service providers, can be contacted on 0800 454 647.
Cape Argus