Many schools are urban war zones, with teachers struggling to cope with unruly pupils, some of whom are armed, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was told in Cape Town on Thursday.
Violence at schools varied from blunt assault to human bite wounds and firearm-related injuries, the director of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa said, describing schools as ”dangerous places”.
”It can therefore be estimated that children are more likely to be violated at school than at other places, making schools one of the most dangerous places for the small child,” said Professor Sebastian van As.
Van As’s estimation was contained in a written submission, one of more than 50 to the SAHRC, which on Thursday commenced two-day public hearings into violence at schools.
Jody Kollapen, chairperson of the SAHRC, said violence at school had escalated beyond that normally associated with bullying, and now included serious levels of violence, and even deaths.
”Receiving a quality education will not be possible in a state of fear,” he said, mentioning the historical and current socio-economic context that contributed to societal violence.
Kollapen said the commission was concerned about the ability of society, the education system and pupils to overcome the problem, which seemed to affect girls especially.
Pointing to the problems both pupils and teachers faced on a daily basis, the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) said the right to human dignity was being infringed.
”The slightest provocation would lead one learner [to] assault a fellow learner … Learners are often accosted on their way to school by criminals loitering … On a daily basis learners are robbed of jewellery, cellphones and taxi fare,” read Naptosa’s submission.
The teacher organisation said violence at schools contributed to low staff morale, could lead to psychological problems in pupils resulting in learning difficulties, as well as a high absenteeism rate.
The South African Council of Educators sought to debunk the current notion of alternatives to corporal punishment, arguing that this approach was ”neither reasonable nor justifiable”.
Corporal punishment is outlawed, but remains controversial as some teachers continue using it as a means of discipline, saying it is the only thing that works.
Critics of corporal punishment believe it perpetuates violence, with the country not having a national policy regarding safety at schools.
More emphasis was needed on conflict resolution and mediation skills.
”Trauma management and peer counselling had made tremendous progress and had reached out to even the homes of learners,” said the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.
The centre said a safe-schools project had achieved much in making participating schools safer. ”Safety teams” involving the local community are an effective way of encouraging community involvement.
Earlier this year, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor announced plans to improve school security, which included plans to identify ”problem schools” and increasing security infrastructure such as fences and closed circuit TV cameras.
Pandor also suggested random searches of pupils for drugs and weapons.
Willem Basson of the Western Cape’s community safety directorate said a one-size-fits-all approach could prove problematic because different schools had different problems.
Basson said drug misuse, gang-affiliation and gangs were major problems besetting Cape Town schools, with 66% of schools located in ”high crime” areas.
To date 500 crime-prevention volunteers had been sent to 101 schools in a bid to counter some of the violence.
This included the rape of a 6-year-old in a school toilet late last year, a teacher being hijacked and pistol-whipped in front of school in March this year and several murders in and around ”township” schools. — Sapa