Durban – Since January this year, more than 400 learners have been seriously wounded or killed as a result of gang-related incidents in schools.
Responding to a question posed by IFP MP Siphosethu Ngcobo during a recent Q&A session, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga said the department had received a total of 411 reports of gang-related incidents in schools since the start of 2022.
Motshekga said schools have been trained on the implementation of the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) a guideline that addresses all forms of violence at schools including gangsterism.
She explained that the framework empowered schools to identify and manage safety threats in schools; establish school safety committees, comprising of stakeholders such as teachers, police officers, school governing body members and learner representative council members.
“Furthermore, the NSSF also empowers schools to develop incident reporting mechanisms, establish collaborations with external stakeholders like the police, the Department of Social Development and civil society organisations, as well as develop school safety plans and policies to respond to safety challenges,” she said.
Motshekga said schools also had the power to develop and implement codes of conduct for learners to address ill-discipline related to gangsterism such as bullying, physical and verbal assaults, the selling and distribution of drugs, and truancy and theft in schools.
In collaboration with police, Motshekga said there was a protocol in place to tackle crime in schools.
She said the protocol had enabled all schools to be linked to their local police stations.
“The SAPS conducts searches and seizures in schools, and crime awareness campaigns in schools. Regularly, schools work with the SAPS, local community police forums and social workers to address gangsterism-related issues. Regular searches and seizures of illegal drugs and weapons are done in schools and anti-gangsterism campaigns, in collaboration with the Department of Social Development and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, are conducted in schools,” the minister said.
She added that bullying and physical fights involving gangsters in schools were influenced by social issues that originated in communities and spilled over to schools.
“In addition, gangsterism in some schools is also influenced by faction fighting between learners from different villages. This form of gangsterism is common in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Furthermore, gangsterism is closely linked to drug peddling in schools,” she said.
On Thursday, a 20-year-old learner was stabbed to death at a Vlakfontein school. A 21-year-old Grade 11 learner was arrested.
A police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo, said the accused had been charged with murder.
“The arrested learner is expected to appear before Lenasia Magistrate’s Court in due course,” he said.
In Durban, a 14-year-old was stabbed in his right hand during an altercation at a Greyville school.
Emer-G-Med spokesperson Kyle van Reenen said the boy was taken to hospital.
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