Study reveals extent of violence in SA schools

A preliminary study shows that violence at schools in South Africa still exist

A preliminary study by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention shows that school violence in South Africa still prevails.

It supports the notion that community violence plays a big part in violence at schools and that both pupils and teachers are bearing the brunt of ill-discipline.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Vincent Mdunge says: "We do get calls from different schools across the province, in terms of intervention mechanisms, where incidences have occurred where for example you would find minor cases of bullying, assault, stabbing."

In the first three months of last year, the Western Cape alone dealt with 193 cases of burglary and vandalism at schools. In the same period, close to 50 cases of gang violence were reported.

The study also suggests that more than 15% of pupils have experienced some form of violence at school. Children across the board have all experience bullying, theft and assault.

Close to 60% of primary school children say they have been victimised three times or more. A total of 13 000 pupils formed part of the study conducted last year and the full report will be released in April.