Several Members of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education today lamented the fact that violence in schools appears to be out of control. The Committee made this observation during a meeting with the Department of Basic Education in Parliament today. The Department presented its fourth quarterly report on meeting its strategic objectives for 2016/17.
Members of Parliament raised various examples of violence in schools. The latest incident happened on Friday and surfaced on social media yesterday where videos showed pupils from Richard’s Bay Secondary School on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast attacking each other. Police have indicated that they found knives and small quantities of dagga at the school.
Committee Member Mr Derick Mnguni also made reference to attacks at schools in Bushbuckridge, where shooting happened on the school premises. “Violence in schools is escalating,” he said. Another Committee Member, Ms Sonja Boschoff, agreed and said Richard’s Bay Secondary School violence showed it was getting out of hand.
Some Committee Members said that principals must ensure that the National Safety framework is implemented. The Committee heard that it is important for principals to foster a good relationship with the police, which means the police can have search and seizures in schools at any time. The Department cautioned that in the long-term, increased policing at school is not ideal, but is merely a short term solution.
Several MPs also raised concerns about the slow delivery of sanitation in schools. Committee Member Mr Dalton Khosa said: “The provision of sanitation is happening at a snail’s pace. Lots of jobs are given to the same contractors who don’t have the capacity to delivery. In some instances, they demolish toilets without providing mobile toilet units.”
Another Committee Member Mr Ian Ollis agreed and added that it is unacceptable that it should take up to one year to build toilets at schools. Acting Committee Chairperson Ms Pinky Mokoto said the underperformance in terms of the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative cannot continue and remedial action should follow.
Rajaa Azzakani
22 August 2017
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