By Sholain Govender
Lyttelton Manor High School is becoming a "gangland", according to concerned parents. Several parents approached the Pretoria News on Tuesday following a stabbing outside the school on Monday afternoon.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared for the safety of their children, they said several incidents proved the school was becoming more and more unsafe.
Motheti Madityana, 29, was stabbed during a fight, allegedly by a Grade 9 pupil. The fight was allegedly over money and drugs.
Madityana, said to be the brother of one of the pupils who attends the school, is in the Pretoria Academic Hospital in a stable condition.
Police are investigating the attack. No arrests have been made.
On Tuesday there was a strong police presence at the school, but principal Patricia Malherbe refused to speak to the Pretoria News.
Members of the parents' association also said they had been instructed not to speak to the media.
Pupils claimed teachers had confiscated copies of the Pretoria News, which contained an article on the stabbing. A school receptionist referred the Pretoria News to the department of education.
But parents have lashed out at the principal's lack of communication, saying Monday's violent incident was due to Malherbe's failure to acknowledge the escalating lack of discipline at the Centurion high school.
Two months ago a 12-year-old primary school pupil was standing at the gates of the high school chatting with friends when her cellphone was grabbed by an older, uniformed, high school pupil.
The alleged thief and a uniformed friend ran down the street before being caught by a passing postal service worker, who helped recover the cellphone for the girl.
The father of the child laid charges of theft and assault against the pupil who snatched the phone. But questioned by the Lyttelton police, the pupil said he was playing with the girl and would have returned the phone.
This father of three said his youngest daughter, due to transfer to Lyttelton Manor High School to complete her higher education in 2007, was still traumatised by the incident and receiving counselling.
He said police had made no arrests and the school principal had told him two months ago that she would contact him with new information. To date he has not been contacted and does not know if the alleged thief is still attending Lyttelton Manor High School or not.
"My daughter has refused to attend that school in 2007 and I am forced to send her to a private school along with her older sister, who is currently at Lyttelton."
Problems at the school started emerging only over the past two years, he said. "It's turning into a gangland," he said. "There is definitely a township gangster element entering the school and a total breakdown in discipline."
He said there was no respect, no authority and his children were not getting a good education because classes were daily disrupted by teachers walking out due to unruly pupils. He suggested metal detectors be placed at the school entrance.
Another father of two said he would also be investing in private school education for his children after his words of caution to the school principal fell on deaf ears.
In July he approached Malherbe, who has been principal for over 10 years, about the escalating problems at the school after he had caught his two children aged 13 and 18 smoking dagga at home.
"My children told me they could easily buy drugs from fellow pupils at the school who acted as dealers and that the drugs were sold in matchboxes," he said.
His children also told him that there was one pupil who was the ringleader.
Upon meeting he principal, the father said he was disappointed that Malherbe said there was not much she could do.
His children had begged him not to do or say anything, he said, because their lives were being threatened, but when he relayed their fears to the principal he was told nothing could happen while they were in school.
A mother of a Grade 11 pupil said she was shocked to learn that her son was involved with drugs when she was called to the school in July.
"Teachers had found drugs on my son and called the police," she said. "It was only then that I realised it was an ongoing problem."
She also learned that her 17-year-old son had been skipping classes regularly. "The teachers can't be doing their jobs properly if I wasn't informed of him bunking school before then," she said.
The mother said she had already explored many solutions to the problem, such as moving her son to a new school.
However, she felt it would disrupt his education as he was close to matriculating.
She had several problems in trying to communicate with the school, she said, and was told on Tuesday that the principal would send out a letter regarding the stabbing incident within the next few weeks.
"That is wrong, because parents need to know what's happening. She should have called a meeting.
"I'm concerned because I don't know whether my son is going to live till matric," said the mother.
Her son was terrified of drug dealers at the school, she said, and afraid to give her any information on them.
Both this mother and the father of the 13-year-old and 18-year-old children have been forced to test their children for drugs, search them and send them for counselling.
They claimed many other parents of Lyttelton Manor High School pupils were in the same position.
On Tuesday security around the school was increased, as evidenced by the presence of Tshwane Metro Police dog unit members, the SAPS and hired security.
Pupils standing outside the gates told the Pretoria News that they had not been given any information or talks about the stabbing incident.
Another pupil said he was scared to go to school. Pupils said police had conducted random searches of pupils suspected to have been involved in Monday's fight and several boys who had been part of the fight arrived at the school with their parents.
Tshwane Metro Police Senior Superintendent Vusi Nkuna, present at the school, said the police had been called to intervene.
He said the police would take whatever action necessary to rid the school of problems. This included giving talks on drugs, weapons and violence and possibly raids.
An education department spokesperson, Panyaza Lesufi, said the matter was not in their hands. Anyone with information on the attack can call Lyttelton police station at 012 644 8627.