Johannesburg - The DA has proposed that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, engage with the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety and Security, Faith Mazibuko, to ensure that school safety is prioritised and violent incidents are investigated to ensure justice for the victims and their families.
Schools have been under siege for the last five years, with the safety of learners and teachers continuing to be threatened almost daily, and eight learners and a principal being killed on school premises.
There were 40 stabbings, 10 shootings and 16 violent crimes.
Khume Ramulifho, the DA’s Gauteng spokesperson on education, said that these incidents were shocking and a clear indication that the lives of innocent people were in danger, yet not much was being done to tighten security measures at schools.
“The information about violent crimes in Gauteng was revealed by the province’s Education MEC, Matome Chiloane, in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng provincial legislature.
“There were 26 incidents as a result of gangsterism, and in addition, 45 incidents occurred because of learner-on-learner violence, one due to teacher-to-teacher violence, six due to learner-on-teacher violence, and four incidents resulting from teacher-on-learner violence.
“Outsiders also killed eight learners and four teachers,” Ramulifho said.
He added that, in total, there were 94 incidents of violent crimes in Gauteng schools in the last five years.
Ramulifho further said that the conviction rate was low and concerning as it showed that the justice system was failing our teachers and learners.
“This indicates that our schools are unsafe, and there is an urgent need to review the current school safety strategy as there has been no improvement.
“In addition, to date, there has only been one conviction known to the department regarding these cases.
“However, some cases were closed due to a lack of evidence, and some are still ongoing.
“There is an urgent need for thorough investigations on these cases to ensure they make it to the court roll,” said Ramulifho.
“The DA demands that the department review the Gauteng school safety strategy and ensure that all stakeholders are involved in formulating new ways to curb violence in our schools,“he added.
“Education is a societal issue, and communities must be involved to ensure our schools are safe places for learners and teachers,” said Ramulifho.
Last month, the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) expressed sadness and exasperation at the alarming increase in the number of violent incidents at schools since the start of the 2023 school year.
“Sadtu is calling for the creation of safe spaces for learners to confide in teachers about the issues they face,” the union said.
“We again reiterate our call for dedicated psychosocial services in schools.
“Our schools do not have enough infrastructure to ensure that learners, teachers and communities do not bring weapons to schools.
“We call for properly trained security personnel to oversee security in schools,” Sadtu added.
Attempts to get comment from the Department of Basic Education and the police were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
The Star