Cosatu calls on government, SAPS to intervene as school violence spirals

Pupils and teachers were left traumatised after Siboniso Nyawose, a teacher at Masuku Primary School in Folweni, was shot by two men who had walked onto the school premises. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/African News Agency (ANA)

Pupils and teachers were left traumatised after Siboniso Nyawose, a teacher at Masuku Primary School in Folweni, was shot by two men who had walked onto the school premises. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Jun 12, 2019

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Johannesburg - Cosatu has called on government and the police to intervene in escalating violence in schools following Monday morning’s murder of a 48-year-old school teacher in Folweni township, south of Durban.

Sbonakaliso Nyawose, a teacher at Masuku Primary School in Folweni was shot in the head and abdomen while walking through a passage at the school on Monday with police investigations into the matter currently underway. 

Sizwe Pamela, Cosatu spokesperson said that they were calling for the Department of Basic Education and law enforcement agencies to work together with other stakeholders to arrest the scourge of violence in schools.

“Whilst there have been several recent high profile instances, violence, gangs and drugs have long been a scourge at thousands of schools in our cities.

“South African schools have become havens for drug gangs with devastating consequences for both teachers and learners,” Pamla said. 

He added that it had now become blatantly obvious that many schools committees were unable to deal with gangsterism in schools and this now need the intervention of the department. 

“While the government has a responsibility to act to deal with the violence in schools, we call on the members of society and in particular the parents to play an active role in keeping the schools safe,” said Pamela. 

On Monday the KZN Department of Education confirmed that it had suspended a 20 year old grade 11 pupil from Luthayi High School in Hammarsdale after a video of the pupil beating up a teacher went viral. 

The Western Cape Education Department recently revealed that there had been up to 18 stabbing incidents in the province since the start of the 2019 school year while in Johannesburg and Cape Town two schools were stabbed to death last week. 

In Mpumalanga province a 26 year old male teacher from Mabusabesala Secondary School was suspended this week for allegedly invigilating an 11th grade examination while carrying a gun in a video that has since gone viral.  

Political Bureau

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