The Department of Basic Education takes school safety very seriously and has put in place policies and measures for ensuring children are and feel safe in our schools.
We have been experiencing a number of challenges in relation to safety in schools. Absence of physical infrastructure, like fencing, and security personnel, has aggravated the situation rendering affected schools vulnerable to criminal and violent acts.
We reiterate that there is no place in our schools for violence, drug-abuse, sexual harassment and other criminal acts because they pose a very serious barrier to learning and to the inculcation of values and ethics of a just and caring society.
We view these ills in a serious light because they carry a potential to deprive our learners of their inherent constitutional rights to life, education, equality and dignity.
Over time, concrete and decisive steps have been taken to improve and promote school safety by systematically addressing various threats to safety and security in schools.
Our interventions have focused on addressing physical infrastructure, such as proper fencing and burglar proofing, resilience-building programmes for young people and strengthening partnerships.
We have a solid partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS) aimed at linking schools with police-stations through campaigns such as ‘Adopt a Cop’.
As reported to the National Assembly earlier in the year:
- Our provincial departments of education have incrementally implemented the provisioning of security officers in schools;
- We have appointed additional security officers to focus on schools located within the 169 “hotspots” as identified by SAPS. For example, the Northern Cape has appointed security officers in 72 schools and Gauteng in 43 schools;
- In the Western Cape, in partnership with Community Safety, the Bambanani Project has been extensively implemented in schools within hotspot areas; and
- Schools have been advised to develop codes of conduct for learners to assist in creating safe, caring and child-friendly schools.
Schools are very critical in instilling discipline and ensuring safety, thus the emphasis on codes of conduct for learners at all public schools. They are responsible for providing an environment conducive to the delivery of quality teaching and learning by, among other things, promoting the rights and safety of all learners, teachers and parents.
We expect schools to implement the Hlayiseka Early Warning System we have developed, that must assist School Governing Bodies, principals, teachers, learners and parents to identify and manage risks and threats of violence.
The department has placed renewed emphasis on combating substance use in schools through the development of a national strategy to address this issue.
We are implementing the Care and Support in Teaching and Learning programme aimed at assisting those learners and educators with substance abuse problems, so that they may be referred to the appropriate resources for help.
Some provinces have collaborated with Soul City in the implementation of the SoulBuddyz clubs in order to address the widespread challenge of substance abuse by learners.
Sexual harassment and violence affect learning environments negatively, creating an atmosphere of fear and aggression. These are certainly not conditions under which we want our learners to learn.
We are deeply concerned about recent acts of crime and sexual abuse allegedly committed in some schools, particularly against the girl child, and during a very critical time in the school calendar.
With the rest of South Africa, we condemn in the strongest of terms the alleged rape of a 15 year old girl at a Johannesburg school and support the call for a thorough investigation.
The arrest of teachers in Benoni for pornographic material is equally alarming. The law must take its course if we are to stamp out all these heinous deeds, in the interest of the safety of children.
The Department of Basic Education, and schools in particular, have a responsibility to protect young people from social problems affecting their learning. There must be zero tolerance for unruly behaviour and abuse of any form in schools.
The Department has issued the Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Sexual Violence and Harassment; they are designed to support schools and school communities in responding to cases of sexual harassment and violence against learners.
These guidelines have been widely distributed, and set out clearly how public schools should treat victims of sexual harassment and violence and the steps that must be taken to deal with those who have or are alleged to have committed such acts.
Basic Education is aware of the reluctance of many young people and their parents and communities to come forward to report such cases, particularly against teachers.
To assist in this regard, we are officially releasing a handbook for learners on how to prevent sexual abuse in public schools, titled Speak Out - Youth Report Sexual Abuse.
The purpose of the handbook (which is available here today) is to equip learners with knowledge and understanding of sexual harassment and sexual violence, its implications, ways to protect themselves from perpetrators, and where to report. The handbook also provides very useful contact details of national and provincial organizations that can assist.
It is important for parents and communities to actively participate in addressing and promoting school safety. Parents and communities are well positioned to see to it that children are safe wherever they are.
The government will continue in earnest to protect the rights of all children in schools. The success of these efforts hinge largely on collective efforts of parents and communities, working together with schools to ensure that all children are safe and realize their full potential in school.
We remain committed to ensuring the safety of learners. We are determined to make schools safe zones for our learners and our teachers.
As we approach the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign, I would like to encourage all young people and concerned teachers and parents to work with us in building a culture of safety, responsibility and humanity in our schools.
We urge all of society and government partners to support this call. Let us all work together to create child-friendly safe schools in which quality learning and teaching can and must take place.
On our part, we will continue reviewing current strategies with the view to strengthening our programmes and interventions. We are fully conscious that our learners are moving with the times and increasingly using technology, like cell-phones and networks like mXit and twitter, we must all join hands to find ways of ensuring these do not compromise learner safety in our schools.
Enquiries
Hope Mokgatlhe
Cell: 071 680 6849
Source: Department of Basic Education
