03 November, 2013
Produced by Amos Phago
An 18-year-old grade 11 learner ‘Gerald’ moved to Langenhoven High school in Pretoria earlier this year with the hope of making a fresh start. He apparently left a previous school because of bullies. His hopes were dashed when a well known ‘gang member’ and fellow learner attacked him at school. The attacks took place over two consecutive days. It was only then that ‘Gerald’ decided to report the bullying, assaults and threats to his parents and then to school authorities.
But ‘Gerald’ and his family claim that when they reported the matter, the school authority did nothing to protect him. Fearing for his safety, ‘Gerald’ says he was forced to ask friends and relatives from a different school to come and escort him home after school. A fight broke out between Gerald’s friends and the other alleged gang resulting in some of the learners ending up with stab wounds.
The police have since charged both learners with common assault and the matter is currently before court. The learners were also suspended from school pending an internal investigation.
According to a recent study by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention one in four high school learners have experienced repeated bullying and most of these incidents are not reported to authorities. The study found that learners do not trust school authorities in dealing with these matters and feel forced to hide the bullying and threats they suffer from fellow learners, or are forced to take matter into their own hands, like ‘Gerald’ did.
While the Department of Basic Education claim to have been dealing with the issue of violence in schools from as early as 2001, research show that, although not on the increase, the level of violence in our schools remain high.
It’s not only fellow learners who are under threat. In this week’s investigation we also look at how teachers are attacked by learners. In one instance a teacher in Sasolburg was shot by a learner. In a second case a cell phone recording went viral of a learner in Glenvista, south of Johannesburg who attacked a teacher with a broom stick and forced him to flee the classroom while being cheered on by his classmates.
Have our schools turned into battlegrounds?
– By
