Durban — Violence in schools across Durban is a concern, with March recording a high number of stabbings, assaults and pupil-against-pupil attacks.
Videos of violence have been circulating on social media. In one incident last week, at a secondary school in Merebank, two teenage boys got into a fight. One was struck with a brick; the other was stabbed in the head.
As a result, teacher unions and the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal have called for society to help put an end to bullying.
SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said the union was aware of the violence unfolding in schools.
“Reports by law enforcement agencies indicate a growing number of violent cases/incidents of crime and violence in society. With schools forming part of society, there is no way that schools can be immune from that which affects society,” she said.
Caluza said that to mitigate this, school governing bodies would have to strengthen the code of conduct and ensure that pupils were fully educated about the code, including the consequences of not following the code.
“The Learner Representative Council must also play its role in workshopping learners on the dos and don’ts in a school setting,” said Caluza.
Caluza said Sadtu had launched awareness campaigns on violence and bullying.
“People would ask what the union is doing. Currently, we are running an ‘I am a school fan’ campaign and through it we denounce violence, we care and we teach.
“This campaign helps in mobilising communities to protect and support schools, ensuring that there is no violence in schools in support of teaching and learning without interruptions.”
Caluza said in dealing with this, parents had a bigger role to play in raising children who respect themselves and one another.
National Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA (Naptosa) KZN CEO Thirona Moodley said violence in schools had escalated to extraordinary proportions.
“It is concerning when learners attack each other violently, which could lead to death.”
Moodley said schools had to be able to deal with conflicts in terms of setting up strategies and systems within the schools where learners felt free to talk about bullying and conflict in a safe environment.
Department of Education KZN spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the department was disheartened by school violence. “Bullying needs to stop because it puts the lives of learners in danger. They end up killing each other and become murderers who spend a lifetime in jail or living on the run.”
Parents must search learners’ bags for weapons before they leave for school, he said.
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