The national Department of Education recently launched the Crime Buster campaign, which aims to make training in self-defence techniques widely available to schoolgoers.
Also known as the Ikusasa Lethu campaign (a Zulu term meaning ‘Our future”), the aim is to teach all girls learners, as well as boys under the age of 10, to defend themselves against abuse by teaching them basic self-defence methods, as well as pointers towards developing self-confidence and self-assertiveness. The training also helps learners recognise potentially dangerous situations before they happen, and how best to escape them if it’s too late.
Minister of Education Kader Asmal, however, gave the assurance that the self-defence methods taught to the children were ‘innately non-violent. We are opposed to violence and would therefore not teach our children to protect themselves through violence”.
Teachers are also being targeted for Crime Buster training so that the greatest number of vulnerable learners possible can be reached.
The project has already made some progress, with 850 teachers and 285 learners already trained in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, the Northern Cape, the North West and Mpumalanga. It is hoped that a further 4 000 people would be trained by the end of the first phase.
According to Asmal, girl learners generally and boys under the age of 10 have been identified as the most vulnerable – not only to abuse from teachers and other learners at school, but beyond the school gates as well.
The day-long course covers the basic philosophy, approach and moves of self-defence. It involves learning a number of defensive moves, like the twist and jerk techniques.
Martin Prew, who heads up the project in the Department of Education, says, ‘A critical point is knowing what the techniques are and not to allow an aggressor to attack in a different way”.
A manual and a training video are provided as back-up for training. Teachers who train a certain number of colleagues and learners over a set period of time are accredited as trainers and given certificates.
There are also discussions underway to include the course in
pre-service teacher training as well.