school safety colloquium, Pretoria
21 November 2006
"School discipline and safety"
Good morning to all our distinguished, guests, participants and
panellists.
While this colloquium is a necessary and important consultation, I think it
is also unfortunate that such a meeting on such a theme has to be held.
Many commentators, angry parents, well wishers and general members of the
public have written to me in the past few weeks with advice, suggestions and
criticism. All agree that the presence of ill discipline, bullying, sexual
abuse, and violence in our schools point to a deep malaise that requires
determined and urgent action.
The writers and callers tell me we are in a tussle for the soul of the
nation. I agree with them. If we allow violence, abuse and drugs to become a
familiar and accepted part of schooling, our future is lost! If we dither and
hide behind our rights-based laws, then we merely confirm that rights protect
abusers and not the dignity of all.
All of us must act and act in unison to indicate that these objectionable
forms of conduct have no place in education. We must not equivocate � they have
no place in schools. Of course, I recognise that the right to education must be
honoured. But if learners are a risk to life and severely impair school
functioning, we must provide alternative means of addressing their educational
needs.
The extent of violence - leading to murder and attempted murder - among
learners that the media has highlighted this year paints a worrying
picture.
At the Council of Education Ministers' (CEM) meeting in October, I indicated
that we would make the school safety regulations widely available in simplified
form and that we would draw up a template for a code of conduct that each
school should adapt and adopt. We need to act to protect teachers and pupils.
All schools need to be fenced, security staff engaged, and counsellors and
other professionals contracted.
I remain convinced that parents or guardians bear primary responsibility for
the conduct and discipline of their children.
Teachers in our disadvantaged schools and communities have not had
sufficient support in confronting the problems of violence and ill discipline.
We need to intensify our support to them. As education administrators and
planners there is work that we should do to ensure conditions that are
conducive to safety in our schools and educational institutions.
Schools must also be places of professional discipline. Schools should have
clear rules, should start on time and should have effective teaching � the
ethos and morale in the school does have some influence on the character of the
school. Schools should be firm on misconduct and inform police when crime is
committed.
Given the rising reports of crime and violence in some of our schools,
police intelligence should focus on youth crime in our schools, drug dealing,
alcohol sales and selling of cigarettes to minors. If we intend to build a
crime free country, we should stop young people from starting crime at
school.
An even more important area of intervention is our national curriculum. Our
curriculum promotes positive values. It should strengthen attention to respect
for others and the promotion of the dignity of all.
Children find it easier to confide in one another rather than in adults or
teachers and so we need to encourage a positive "buddy" system so that
incidents of violence and the perpetrators are exposed.
The Western Cape has a hotline for help and advice. Other provinces, which
are now experiencing similar problems among learners, need to think of
following suit.
I hope this meeting will assist us in determining implementable strategies
and agreement on areas where there may be policy gaps. Of course policy and
regulations cannot be the only approaches. We have several progressive
statutory instruments they have not fully addressed the emerging
challenges.
A few weeks ago we indicated immediate steps the Department of Education
(DoE) would initiate to respond to the most problematic schools. It is clear we
need to go beyond these actions. Drugs have entered school gates and a sectoral
response that directly responds is necessary.
As I indicated earlier we should use our curriculum to teach positive
values. I remain convinced that where there are parents and caregivers, they
must share the burden of inculcating discipline. Schools are not mini-prisons
and teachers cannot be expected to serve as correctional officers to wild and
unruly students.
The provinces must attend to the expansion of educational support services
so that counsellors and other professionals are available to provide sustained
support to learners who need this. We must also look at how district offices
could be assisted to provide learning spaces for learners who may be removed
from schools. This meeting seeks your contributions. I hope we will be focused
in addressing what many of you have termed a serious constraint on the
achievement and promotion of quality education.
As we address these matters we should also acknowledge that not all our
schools are problem schools. Also our tributes must go to the thousands of
teachers who have created empowering and caring schools in thousands of
communities throughout the country. I thank them for their selflessness. And
thank you for your presence here. Thanks too to Buti Manamela for believing
that collectively we can address these challenges and to Thulas Nxesi for
agreeing with Mr Manamela.
In closing, this meeting must send out a clear message to all South Africans
that we are determined to maintain safe and caring schools throughout the
country. Parents, teachers, community leaders and our youth will unite to
confront this challenge to the progress of our schools.
Issued by: Department of Education
21 November 2006
Source: Department of Education (http://www.education.gov.za/)
