Pupils of Mandlenkosi High School in Lindelani, KZN, say they fear for their safety in this “lawless school”.
|||When their children set off for school in the morning, the parents of pupils at Mandlenkosi High School in Lindelani fear for their safety.
Not because they may fall prey to theft or injury, but because a pupil at the school died after being stabbed by a peer in an argument over a desk earlier this month.
From looking at their children’s books, and the extra hours teachers put in, the parents believe the school is striving to deliver quality education, but that these efforts are being thwarted by incidents of violence.
On Monday, when members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature’s portfolio committee on education visited the school, parents and teachers alike confessed to the same fears.
Committee and Education Department officials heard that pupils blew smoke in their teachers’ faces, and that young female staff had to ward off pupils’ sexual advances.
On Thursday, when the committee convenes at the legislature, it will decide on a course of action, but members have already suggested forming a task team to turn the school around. The committee would also petition the department to urgently introduce additional security at the school after teachers said that drug dealers sold their wares to pupils by entering the premises through a hole in the fence which had to be patched up daily.
The parents said that while they were not blind to their children’s faults, they, the school’s governing body and the department should step in to address the situation.
“For kids to carry knives to school, the blame lies with us parents. Yes, they hide them, but we must tell and teach them otherwise. The school could also do regular checks for weapons so that pupils won’t bring these things to class,” said one parent, who would not be named.
Her son had tried to register himself at a different school this year, but the woman was adamant: “My concern is to fix that school, not take my child away. I think the department must interfere and talk strongly to the children. Parents must teach their children what is wrong and what is right... The governing body must also make plans for safety.”
Police confirmed that a 20-year-old Mandlenkosi pupil had appeared in court on a murder charge last week in connection with the fatal stabbing in the school yard.
“The alleged argument was over a school desk. The deceased pupil sat on the suspect’s desk without his permission,” said Captain Thulani Zwane.
The department said it was important that all schools had active safety committees, consisting of principals, governing body members and local councillors. -The Mercury