Violence in South African schools has claimed the lives of a number of children in recent years, while many more have been hospitalised with injuries.
In one of the latest incidents, a 15-year-old boy was beaten by a fellow pupil at a high school in Florida, a relatively well-off suburb of Johannesburg.
Shaun Erasmus was left with a gaping wound on his face and had his nose broken in two places; doctors had to operate to repair the damage. According to newspaper reports, the parents of the attacker said that Erasmus had sworn at their child, prompting the attack.
Elsewhere, children have been mortally wounded by knife-wielding fellow learners. Moegamat Kannemeyer (15) died after being attacked by a group of pupils while he was walking home from school.
The child death rate due to violence in the country’s schools is 60% higher than the global average, according to a study by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), titled Report of the Public Hearing on School-Based Violence. In interviews conducted by the SAHRC, one out of four children said they had experienced violence at school.
The climate of aggression in schools also manifests itself in other ways. The SAHRC report indicates that in certain places of learning, children have been seen in the playground shouting ”Rape me, rape me,” and ”Hit me, hit me.”
Perhaps worse still, only one in nine children who experiences violence in school and elsewhere reports it to the authorities — this according to Joan van Niekerk, national coordinator of Childline, a non-profit organisation working to protect children from abuse.
”It is a reason for great concern because children live in a society where violence has become normalised to such an extent that children believe violence against them is to be accepted,” says Van Niekerk.
Recommendations
In a bid to address school violence, the SAHRC report recommends that a programme be implemented that includes the creation of safe physical spaces for learners; the carrying-out of screening and security measures; the reduction of overcrowding in classrooms; the transformation of unattractive learning environments; and ensuring safe transport for learners.
The creation of accessible and child-friendly reporting and treatment services; the education of teachers to deal with violent conflicts; the advancement of a culture of peace through a curriculum of non-violence; the involvement of parents, school governing bodies and communities in a school safety plan; and the development of codes of conduct for schools are also advocated.
While these suggestions are undoubtedly valuable, they nonetheless give cause for concern to Van Niekerk. She believes the SAHRC recommendations don’t sufficiently address the role of parents in school violence — even though they are often at the heart of the problem — and of the larger community.
”If children see violence in their homes and their communities, they will copy the behaviour. It is of the utmost importance that violence in all areas of society is addressed. We need to look at how we raise our boy children. They get guns and other toys associated with masculinity at an early age. They grow up thinking that violence is acceptable,” Van Niekerk says.
She also has concerns about other aspects of the programme.
”The SAHRC recommendations are strongly based on human rights. But a human rights approach can be extremely limiting. It focuses on the rights of the individual, but there is very little focus on the responsibility of the individual,” Van Niekerk notes, adding that there have been no studies about the effectiveness of a human rights approach to curb violence in schools in other developing countries around the world.
”There has to be broad discussion on what the responsibilities of parents, teachers, politicians and children have to be in society. One needs to inculcate a sense of responsibility in the child at a very young age.”
This sentiment is echoed by Mvula Yoyo, a former manager of education services at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape.
”Children are very aware of their rights and they often manipulate the fact that they have rights. This leads to unruly behaviour in classrooms and even attacks on teachers.
However, the children do not accept the responsibility that goes with the rights. Until a sense of responsibility is instilled, the chaos will continue. Parents also have to accept responsibility for their children.”
Morals
Van Niekerk believes a part of the reason children act violently is because of a general lack of moral leadership in the country; she says there is a perception that politicians are corrupt, for instance.
”There are no moral role models that children can look up to. Children’s role models are often celebrities that they see on TV — and many of the celebrities do not lead exemplary lives.
One of the billboards with a South African music star had the words ‘What I want, when I want it’. The message is that one has to seek instant gratification. It is not a positive message.”
She adds: ”Parents, politicians and other authority figures have failed our children.”
For her part, Amanda Dissel — manager of the criminal justice programme at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, in Johannesburg — notes that measures relating to what happens after school hours are as important as steps taken in the classroom.
”Many children are without supervision as their parents are at work. We need systems where they can be positively engaged,” she says.
Dissel also raises the controversial issue of corporal punishment, outlawed since 1996 in South Africa’s schools. ”There is also a need to support teachers. We frequently get reports from them that the situation is bad because corporal punishment has been banned in schools.” — IPS