IFP wants more action to curb school violence

THE IFP has welcomed an initiative by the KZN government to clamp down on school violence and crime in the province by deploying 1 500 trained volunteers to monitor hot spots across the province.

However, the party believes volunteers alone would not offer a permanent solution to clamp down on violence and crime in schools.

IFP education spokesperson, Thembeni KaMadlopha-Mthethwa, said while her party commended any initiatives aimed at improving the safety of learners and teachers, they hoped the MEC for Education, Kwazi Mshengu, would elaborate further on the project.

‘We need to know what resources have been provided to these volunteers to fight crime and violence in schools.

‘It is an undisputed fact that armed criminals rob and kill teachers in broad daylight, therefore this begs the question how these volunteers will face-off against criminals,’ she said.

KaMadlopha-Mthethwa said while the issue of crime at schools had been at the forefront of media reports, public debates and general discussions for a very long time, it seems that so far only superficial lip service was being paid to the issue and there was no concrete action to curb crime.

‘We believe that unless crime is confronted and addressed vigorously and without compromise, we cannot hope to develop our wonderful country to its full potential.

‘We have made several appeals in the past for metal detectors, CCTV cameras and security personnel to be available at all schools.

‘We demand that officers with hand-held metal detectors should go into schools and conduct random checks to gauge the extent of the problem of learners bringing weapons onto school premises.

‘Proper fencing around schools will also deter people from walking onto school premises undetected.

‘Schools must have an entrance with security detectors available to ensure that all individuals entering or leaving the building or gates are scanned,’ she said.