This once again highlighting school safety.  A 19-year-old Grade 10 learner was killed by a 21-year-old Grade 11 learner at the Metsimaphodi Secondary School in Dewetsdorp, Free State. 

This is according to the spokesperson at the Provincial Education Department, Howard Ndaba, who confirmed that the suspect is now in police custody while the family of the deceased continue to reel in shock over the loss of their loved one. The alleged murder is said to have taken place at the school on Monday and the two men are believed to have been rival members of a gang in the area. Ndaba says since the incident, the Department has met with the school’s management team as well as the families of the men.

“This is not an education issue per se, it’s a societal issue because most of these learners bring these knives from their homes and as such, we’re urging parents to check the school bags of their children as often these knives are brought from home to the school. This gives us a problem as teachers because we are not trained to deal with these kinds of situations. We feel unsafe but if we can work together as communities, teachers, learners, and parents, we can beat this scourge in our schools,” Ndaba said.

Ndaba said the families of the those affected will receive counselling and the department will focus more closely on providing support to the family of the deceased. Learners and teachers at the school said to have witnessed the killing of the learner will also receive counselling.  

Meanwhile, the community of Morojaneng in the town joined forces against the rampant gangsterism in the area, as they took part in a parade with various religious groups, professionals within the education sector and political parties on Wednesday. The killing took place just one day after Parliament’s Portfolio Committee raised concerns about schools safety on Tuesday. Deputy Minister of Education, Enver Surty, suggested that school governing bodies should have safety committees as a result of the rise in violence at schools in recent years. 

Surty said the Education Department would be going forward to work with the police department in tackling the disturbing trends in assaults on teachers, disciplinary issues by learners as well as the use of drugs and other substances at schools around the country. To date, more than 15 000 schools have been adopted by the South African Police Service stations as part of the Adopt-A-School programme. This programme was launched in 2012 by the police and seeks to link all schools to local police stations, raise awareness amongst children and young learners about crime and violence and its impact on individuals, families, and education.

OFM News