The Departments of Basic Education and Police have entered into an agreement to improve safety in schools. The agreement is part of a range of efforts aimed at eradicating school-based crime.
Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga and the Minister of Police, Mr Nathi Mthethwa signed the partnership protocol on 11 April 2011. The official launch of the project took place at Sakhisize Secondary School in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, on Tuesday 6 August 2013.
This collaborative partnership seeks to deal with school-based crime prevention programmes and interventions. Since the signing of the protocol more than 18 000 schools have been linked to police stations with safe school committees also established. Speaking at the launch of the protocol, Deputy Minister of Basic Education Enver Surty said that despite the achievements in South Africa over the past 20 years, there could be no progress without discipline.
“We must be sure to always treat each other with respect and dignity. We cannot transform society without discipline and morals,” he said. The protocol will be headed by the police’s Visible Policing Division and the Basic Education’s School Safety and Enrichment programmes. Both departments have acknowledged that crime and violence in schools was a shared responsibility hence the need for this protocol.
