The government has failed to take necessary steps to ensure learners are protected against the escalating violence in schools, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday.
”The DA believes those departments responsible, together with the police, are overlooking some simple and obvious steps, which need to be taken if the situation is to be turned around,” the party’s spokesperson on safety and security, Dianne Kohler-Barnard, said.
Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town, Kohler-Barnard said violence in South African schools has reached unacceptable levels that require immediate intervention.
”Hardly a day goes by without an incident being reported … the DA strongly believes that decisive and immediate action needs to be taken to protect learners and ensure that schools are havens for learning and not violence,” she said.
Poor police service and an ineffective education system are largely to blame for the escalation of violence in schools. ”It can be attributed to a failing police service, which simply doesn’t have the resources or the expertise to grapple with problems of this nature,” she said, adding that the problem also reflects of ”poor standards of education”.
The Department of Education should see to it that learners involved in violent activities are expelled from school. ”Disruptive elements must not be allowed to remain in class as they make it impossible for other learners to learn,” she said.
Kohler-Barnard suggested a 26-point action plan that needs to be adopted if the situation is to improve. The plan recommends increased social development funding, the compilation of a school violence database and an increase in funding for security at schools. — Sapa