Together we can rid our schools of drugs, sex and crime
Vilakazi told Kathorus MAIL the solution lies in getting learners positively involved in the process.
In this issue I would like to introduce you to a 33-year-old man by the name of Themba Vilakazi, of Khumalo Valley in Katlehong.
Vilakazi admits he has no formal training in crime prevention to deal with the rampant lawlessness and violence at our schools, nor does he have enough educational qualifications to call himself an academic who can deal with all the issues affecting education at local schools.
But the Mpumalanga-born social and education activist strongly believes there is a solution to the moral degeneration that has turned most local secondary and high schools into dens of iniquity.
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Vilakazi believes that the social menace of violence, crime, sex and drugs at schools needs to be tackled head-on by a combined force of parents, teachers, the police, the Department of Education and the learners.
“It is all about the learners and we all have to understand we cannot solve these problem without them,” he said.
He claimed that his interaction with learners from primary to high school has helped him understand intricate issues that most parents and teachers are often too afraid to tackle with their children.
“They then leave the problem in the hands of the teachers, who in most instances simply pass the buck to the school headmaster, who in turn calls the Department of Education when there is something beyond his or her powers.”
Vilakazi explains that the inability of parents, teachers and the school heads to resolve complex issues can only compound problems for the learners.
Vilakazi, describes himself as a “foot solider” when it comes to fighting for the rights of children and their access to quality education.
He often wanders alone around Kathorus, on foot, and can be seen engaging with schoolchildren and asking them questions about their schoolwork and, above all, about the problems they encounter with their educators as well as their headmasters at their respective schools.
He told Kathorus MAIl that one of the cardinal sins committed by most schoolmasters, especially at secondary and high schools, is the system of locking learners out of the school premises as punishment for arriving late.
Vilakazi said this is one of the most detrimental forms of punishment any headmaster can mete out to learners.
“If only these headmasters understood the detrimental effect this system has on the learners who suddenly find themselves with this vast amount of spare time on their hands as they wait for the principal to change his or her mind about allowing them into school to continue with their studies.”
Vilakazi said he often visits and chats to some of these locked-out learners.
“Reasons for this punishment varies from school to school and according to the headmaster’s view on punishing the learners. But the end result is often parties with drinks and drugs, which always lead to even worse things,” explained Vilakazi.
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In the next issue, Kathorus will be visiting some high schools around Kathorus to see just how serious the issues raised by Vilakazi are.
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