It is indisputable that South African schools have become dangerous learning and working environments, and the fight against such violence is clearly fast becoming a lost battle.
This bloody state of affairs is extremely concerning and demands urgent intervention.
The recent spate of brutal attacks including fatal stabbings, bullying, burglaries and sexual assaults at our learning institutions across the country is a clear indication that violent crime has found its way from the country’s dangerous streets into our schools.
And if authorities continue dragging their feet on this issue then we’re obviously headed for a disaster of epic proportions.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been a number of reports of violent incidents of serious nature in different schools across the country.
Close to home, a learner was gang-raped allegedly by fellow schoolmates at Reiger Park Secondary this year. It’s quite clear as a nation we have a big problem to tackle.
Also highlighting schools’ vulnerability to acts of violent crime are the recent brazen robbery at Sea Point High School where a teacher was assaulted and 50 cellphones stolen along with the burglary and theft of electronic equipment at the state of the art Menzi Primary School in Tsakane this year.
The questions must be asked: why the situation has been allowed to degenerate into the current state of affairs? What measures have we taken to protect our children from these adverse conditions?
Are the security guards hired to protect school property and ensure a safe and secure environment for learners and staff perfectly capable of dealing with external criminal and learners who are engaged in violence on the school grounds?
It’s obvious that our schools do not have adequate measures to protect learners and staff and ensure that schools remain a safe environment for learning and teaching.
Some have recently called for the deployment of police to schools to help quell the recent spate of violence.
The Educators’ Union of South Africa has also called for teachers to be allowed to bring guns to school to protect themselves.
However, neither arming teachers nor deployment of police officers are the solutions to the problems as youth violence extends beyond the school gates.
The idea of teachers carrying guns to schools and deployment of armed police would further mean that our schools become militarised zones. Such moves are also most likely to send the wrong message to children that violence is the solution.
Many studies have proven that violence would clearly not resolve the problem and we all know that violence breeds violence.
Furthermore, can the police be trusted to protect learners when they are also implicated in crime and already they are seemingly losing the battle against brazen criminals in our communities?
Criminals and gangs in particular, are literally running amok and holding our communities, including schools, to ransom. So, what purpose will deploying police to school serve?
On arming teachers, one can agree that in some cases teachers are also found on the wrong side of the law, accused of abusing learners. So tomorrow when learners complain that they are being threatened by the armed teachers, someone will say learners must be armed and as a result the school community will be armed against each other.
Arming teachers and deploying police can only serve as a short-term solution and is mostly likely to backfire in the near future.
Teachers will earn the respect they deserve from learners through fear. The responsibility to provide a safe working and learning environment cannot be shifted on teachers who are themselves under siege. It is the employer’s responsibility.
The reality is that we live in a violent country. In an interview with the Advertiser on school safety, the Oos Rand Secondary School principal Lincoln van Ross had this to say about violence: “The violence seen at our schools is a reflection of what is happening in our communities.The violent crimes in our communities continue to affect children and shape how they behave.
“Therefore, this high level of crime in the community is transported into our schools.”
One has to agree with van Ross that schools are in fact the microcosm of society. Clearly, in this country, violent crime is a common feature and recent police stats have revealed that there is an alarming increase in violent crime in the country.
Because learners are a mirror to the behaviour they see within their communities and homes, violence also made its way into our schools. As a nation, we need to sit down and say how can we deal with the high level of violence in our country and the impact it has on our children.
We need to take a holistic approach to deal with the root cause of the problem and provide a long-term solution to quell violence in our schools. The responsibility doesn’t only fall on the Department of Education and the police.
There is only so much the police and the education department could do. The battle to protect the welfare and safety of our children requires the efforts of all government stakeholders and parents.
We are all responsible for the behaviour of children in our homes and communities. We cannot solve the problem if we continue working in silos. School safety must be part of safety programmes that involve partnerships with communities, parents and multiple government stakeholders.
More importantly, parents need to become more involved in the upbringing of their children, including monitoring their school performance, and change in behaviour as this may help them detect the childhood risks and delinquent behaviours before it becomes worse.
Equally, the government need to support all programmes aimed at ensuring the safety and welfare of our youth. Deploying armed police to schools is no solution. So is the idea of teachers carrying guns to schools.
FOLLOW US:
For more #hyperlocal news at your fingertips, visit Benoni City Times, Springs Advertiser, Brakpan Herald, African Reporter and Kathorus Mail
