Statement by Donald Grant, MEC for Education in the Western Cape

Following an incident last Thursday at St. Andrew's Secondary School in Elsies River, MEC for Education Donald Grant said that the Department was going to take a "zero tolerance" approach towards violent behaviour in the Province's schools.

"The brutal attack on a learner at St. Andrew's is a stark reminder of the levels of violence in our schools," said Grant.

"This year alone, we have already had 60 reported stabbing incidents at our schools. Last year, 80 cases were reported to Safe Schools. This is completely unacceptable. We simply cannot allow this violence to continue."

Grant said that there was a need to crack down on disruptive and violent learners, and that they will be held accountable for their actions.

"If an incident occurs on the school premises, the police will be called in to investigate, and based on available evidence, charge those involved," said Grant.

"The WCED will also conduct its own investigation. Any learner found guilty of extreme violence, after due and proper process has been followed, will be expelled from the school. The WCED will provide counselling and will assist in the transfer of the learner to another school if deemed appropriate."

Grant said that the use of dangerous and sharp weapons was a major concern of the Department.

"In order to protect our learners and teachers we will be rolling out metal detectors to 109 schools this month. If a weapon is found on a learner, the prescripts of the Education Law Amendment Act (2007) will be applied, and the disciplinary actions as per the school code of conduct followed," he said.

"In the case of St. Andrew's Secondary, I will be following this case up with the Ministry for Community Safety to ensure that the perpetrators face criminal charges. CCTV footage of the incident should provide enough evidence to bring these perpetrators to book," said Grant.

"We will also be providing the school with two metal detectors later this month."

Grant said the WCED have instituted a number of preventative measures to address the causes of rising levels of violence in our classrooms.

"Our Youth at Risk model makes provision for support within mainstream schools. These include early identification of learners who show signs of aggressive behaviour, and special developmental programmes to assist learners at risk. These programmes target learners that are unable to manage anger, are in the possession and/or use of dependency producing substances and participate in immoral conduct," said Grant.

"The Safe Schools project has also developed an Integrated School Safety Plan and manages a toll free call centre where children can lodge complaints or request assistance, and are referred to the school social workers, school psychologists or external service providers for therapeutic and psychological intervention."

He said that the Department will also be investigating the viability of rolling out a peacemaker initiative, based on the Delft Schools Peer Mediation Project which has the support of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. This project introduces conflict resolution by means of peer mediation and is based on a model that includes the participation of the broader community.

For enquiries, contact Bronagh Casey:  072 724 1422 or brcasey@pgwc.gov.za.

Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za