Crime adds to SA's education woes Sarah McGregor | Evaton, South Africa
13 November 2006 07:38 When high school principal Velaphi Mthembu
started to get death threats and found himself living in fear of
violent skirmishes, he organised a fierce counterattack to protect his
students and staff. Under a zero tolerance policy for criminal
behaviour, pupils at ED Mashabane Secondary School in the poor black
township of Evaton near Johannesburg were recruited to expose
troublemaking peers. Undercover police officers were invited to hide in
toilet stalls and nab students who had skipped class to puff on
marijuana joints, and to arrest pupils who brandished weapons like
steel desk legs, broomsticks and knives. Mthembu even ferried young
offenders to the police station in the boot of his car. "School
enrolment has dropped to 600 from 900 students over the last year. Most
of those [dropouts] weren't learners," said Mthembu, holding up like a
trophy a cloth bag of confiscated marijuana stored in his office filing
cabinet. "They were selling dagga or here to cause trouble. When they
saw I was in business with the police, they left school. It's still a
dangerous place but there is more order." The alarming level of
classroom violence in South Africa mirrors a wider problem in a country
with some of the world's highest rates of violent crime. Many blame the
violence on inadequate policing, a wide chasm between rich and poor and
the traumatic legacy of apartheid. Teachers warn that schoolyard crime
is contributing to the decline in education standards, also blamed on
staff shortages, an HIV/Aids epidemic that has struck down many
teachers, overcrowded classrooms and a lack of textbooks. Tough
measures The problem rose to the top of the political agenda in recent
weeks after a spate of fatal school stabbings where teenage pupils were
both the perpetrators and victims. In response, South African Education
Minister Naledi Pandor reminded headmasters of their search-and-seize
powers for weapons and illegal drugs and said she was considering tough
new measures including random drug testing of pupils. Pandor's
department is in the final stage of drafting "priority" legislation to
tighten security, which could propose installing metal detectors, X-ray
machines, and security cameras in schools, a ministry spokesperson
said. Pandor has previously warned that the poor quality of public
education will threaten future growth if not corrected. While separate
education based on race has been eliminated in democratic South Africa,
the impact of apartheid-era policies still lingers, and the government
has been accused of neglecting public schools, especially in poor
townships. Authorities have also struggled to offer quality education
in rural areas, although school fees have been abolished in around a
quarter of schools, those that are most needy. Police reports indicate
that unruly behaviour and sexual violence plague both under-resourced
schools in poor areas and more elite private schools in major cities.
The South African Human Rights Commission recently held two days of
public hearings into school-based violence and its final report, due
early next year, is expected to stoke public debate over the Bill,
judging by the number of written submissions to the commission. This is
all welcome news for teachers at Botlehadi Primary School, also in
Evaton, where two 12-year-old students recently beat each other with
steel rods in a fight over money. "We notified their parents but no one
came. Educators are helpless when it comes to discipline," said Clement
Nkhumese, head of department at Botlehadi. "I don't think we should be
using corporal punishment but current methods are ineffective." More
than bullying About 10% of assaults against children in South Africa
happen in schools, with the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town
reporting 441 incidents between 1991 and 2002 including rape,
strangulation and assault with an iron bar. Countless other cases are
believed to go unreported. "In the grim suburbs and townships, there is
little entertainment for children -- no sports clubs or playgrounds. We
must make the community work together to reduce violence," said
Sebastian van As, of the hospital's trauma unit. Increased parental and
community involvement in the lives of children and peer mentorship
programmes could create a more productive learning environment, he
said. Van As is among those who warn stepped-up security could
backfire, arguing that pupils who are expelled are at greater risk of
delinquency and that lockdowns only heighten anxiety among students.
"We worry about responding to this with police measures. Children need
a safer learning environment not one of fear," said Penny Dlamini, of
the Johannesburg-based Soul City Institute, which focuses on youth
issues. But some who have been victims of school violence say a soft
touch will never work. Alvaro Manana (16) was threatened with knives
and verbally abused until he fought back. "It's not right that people
don't feel safe when all they want do is learn," he said. - Reuters