Sadtu voices concern at increased violence at schools

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) has raised concerns about increasing incidents of violence in schools.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the teacher union expressed its dismay and exasperation at the increase in the number of incidents of violence in schools in the form of bullying, suicide, stabbings and shootings since the beginning of the 2023 academic year.

Pupils fighting over desks
The statement comes shortly after two videos of school pupils fighting with sticks over a shortage of desks at a school in Underberg, in the Harry Gwala District of KwaZulu-Natal, started trending over the weekend.

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The two videos started trending on TikTok over the weekend and it is believed the fight took place last week.

The person who posted the video said she is an employee at the school and that this was not the first time a fight had broken out because of a shortage of furniture. She said not all pupils have a place to sit and write in class.

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She said there are only about 250 desks for close to 700 pupils which leads to the fights over desks.

Some of the pupils in Grade 8 are sitting on the floor and there is overcrowding in classes especially in humanities [subjects].
She said the fighting started in one class and escalated from there.

There have been fights before but we thought they were over… What happened this time was that pupils who were accusing the other pupils of taking their desks, came back with sticks to beat them up.
The fight broke out when the teachers were changing classes. The fight turned into a war between villages. The pupils have been fighting for three days and we’ve tried getting help with no luck.
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She said filming the fight was their way of trying to get help. She added that every time the pupils have conflicts with each other, they bring sticks and shields to school.

Since the beginning of the year we’ve been having the same problem. Even last year there were issues with the shortage of desks and some pupils had to stand during lessons.
Department aware of situation
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi, said they are aware of what is happening in the school.

The circuit manager has been sent there with the police and other stakeholders to find a solution to the problems.
Schools are no longer safe havens
Sadtu said these incidents clearly indicate that schools are no longer the safe havens they are supposed to be but they endanger the lives of both pupils and teachers.

Our schools do not have enough infrastructure to ensure pupils, teachers and communities do not bring weapons to schools. We call for properly trained security personnel to oversee security in schools. We condemn the use of corporal punishment by teachers; it is a violation of children’s rights and dignity, perpetuates violence and may lead to the pupil being aggressive and anti-social.
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The statement added that Sadtu believes violence does not emanate nor end in schools but is a societal issue.

They made a call to all stakeholders in education, more especially, communities and parents to be involved in schools in their neighbourhoods through the union’s “I am A School Fan” campaign.

The campaign calls on all stakeholders to make schools safe havens, stop violence against teachers and learners, stop vandalising schools, keep schools safe and clean and build a caring society. It’s our business as human beings in all spheres of life to protect everyone in our society and schools must be havens of safety.

The Education Department issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying that the MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbali Frazer, had called an urgent meeting with all relevant stakeholders at the school.

She said that she received a report indicating that the school has a shortage of desks in some of the classrooms.

This was reported to be the cause of the tensions between learners as they allegedly fought over the available desks.
No request for additional desks
At the meeting Frazer found out that a request for additional desks was never submitted to the relevant section of the department.

She was also informed that several maintenance issues at the school had not been reported to the department either.

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Some of the maintenance issues were said to be as a result of crime and vandalism.

The MEC issued a directive that all required desks and chairs be delivered to the school before February 17.

No pupil must feel discouraged from attending school due to a shortage of desks and chairs.
All stakeholders agreed that internal disciplinary procedures must be followed regarding the pupils who were engaged in the fight.