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Thabo Mothibi, Managing Editor, thabo@ncnn.live
The Northern Cape’s Departments of Education, Social Development, Transport, Safety and Liaison and the South African Police Services (SAPS) have joined forces in stemming the tide of school violence. In bolstering past efforts, the School Safety Protocol was launched at the Gaugake Primary School in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district last Friday.
In January this year, a 42 year old teacher Kingston Vhiya of Bosele Middle School in the district’s Manyeding village, was stabbed to death by a 15 year old learner who was subsequently charged with murder. In July, a learner at Batlharos village in the same district died on school grounds having been shot from outside the premises. The province has also been gripped by a string of incidents of knife wielding learners that attacked fellow ones. Late last month, a 15 year old learner at Richmond High School in the small karoo town of Richmond in the Pixley ka Seme district was also stabbed to death by a fellow classmate.
Declaring school safety a “non-negotiable,” Education MEC Martha Bartlett and her social cluster executive council colleague’s launched the School Safety Protocol in an effort to put school violence into order.
“The School Safety Protocol will strengthen the existing partnership with between the Department of Education and the SAPS, together with all our partners and stakeholders, to promote safer schools and to prevent the involvement of learners in crime,” emphasised Bartlett.
According to Bartlett, the School Safety Protocol flows from the National School Safety Framework which with a good read and application would arm school based stakeholders and the education department’s provincial and districts officials with insights in being able to; “identify and manage risks and threats in and around schools.”
Recently, cited as bearing an inextricable link to school violence, the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol by learners was also casted into the equation.
“The Department has also developed a National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug use amongst learners in schools. As schools mirror our communities, curbing drug use in schools will in turn prevent drug use within communities and render them safe for all communities. Schools have been provided with a Guide to Drug Testing in South African Schools.”
Delivering a massage of support, SAPS provincial commissioner Risimati Shivuri bravely pinpointed the school safety dilemma. “We must acknowledge that we have created this mess. We have allowed for some learners to come to school carrying weapons and drugs, thus disrupting the classes and disturbing the peace.
“Schools have also become a breeding ground for criminals and this is happens right under our watch and prisons are overflowing with people and children because we have allowed crime to manifest itself into an insurmountable mountain.
Shivuri urged parents to take responsibility and “stop delegating their responsibilities to the teachers and the police.”
He flagged initiatives such as the SAPS Junior Commissioner Project which is aimed at reducing crime in schools and in making them crime free zones.
By Thabo Mothibi
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Thabo Mothibi is a former broadcast journalist (TV and Radio) – with specialist reporting experience; SABC Political/Parliamentary and TRC Teams over a period of five years (1995 to 2000).
One key foreign assignment - is the 11-nation African Connection Rally – overland journey from Africa’s northern-most pole in the coastal Tunisian city of Bizerte to the southern-most pole in South Africa’s Cape Agulhas. From the journalistic years, Thabo then delved into Government media liaison and serving two former Ministers and three MECs. He became the Northern Cape Provincial Government’s first department based Communications Director at Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development - 2008-2010 – where he also served as Head of Ministry from 2003 – 2008.
As a former anti-apartheid activist, his political background and professional training aided him in spearheading the Northern Cape ANC’s 2004 National Elections media and publicity campaign and that of the 2006 Local Government Elections.
Whilst based in Waterkloof in Pretoria -2010 to end 2011, he consulted for Manstrat Agricultural Intelligence, then returned to the Northern Cape in 2012 to date, to consult independently and pursue other entrepreneurial interests in media and communications through KwaVuko Communications and Marketing.
Thabo Mothibi obtained his NQF7 through Wits University’s Graduate School of Public and Development Management (P&DM) in Johannesburg, a Unilever Mandela Rhodes Academy for Marketing and Communications Academy (UMRA). The goal of the NQF7 programme was to educate and train public and private sector professional communicators and marketers in government communications..
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