The Gauteng Education Department has overturned a school governing body’s recommendation to expel a 16-year-old Pretoria Boys High School pupil accused of threatening a possible school shooting and targeting a specific teacher, prompting sharp criticism from education leadership about systemic failures in addressing school-based violence.
The learner, who cannot be identified as a minor, allegedly made threatening remarks in WhatsApp voice notes and appeared in videos depicting firearms and drug use. The school’s disciplinary committee unanimously recommended expulsion, citing safety concerns and serious misconduct. The pupil’s family has disputed certain allegations, including whether a firearm shown in the videos was a real weapon.
Jaco Deacon, Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS), said the department’s decision sends a troubling message to schools nationwide.
“The message is clear: you’re on your own,” Deacon stated. “Before a governing body can recommend expulsion, they go through a very thorough process on school level to really assist, guide, and help that family and that learner to comply with all the rules and regulations.”
Under the Schools Act, school governing bodies cannot expel a learner directly but may submit an application for expulsion to the head of the education department. In this instance, the department declined the application and instead imposed a 12-month suspended sanction alongside intervention programs.
Deacon argued that such measures are fundamentally mismatched to the severity of the allegations. “When a school asks for expulsion, it means they’ve reached the end of the line,” he said. “I can promise you, when you go to the HOD, you’ll find a file that’s that thick with all the information on what the school already did—the intervention programs, the strategies, communication with the family. That’s standard process.”
He referenced the George Randall Primary School ruling in the Eastern Cape, which established that the constitutional right to education can be limited by serious misconduct. “I think they’re simply ignorant [of that precedent],” Deacon said. He also noted that the closure of specialized schools—such as boys’ and girls’ towns—that previously accommodated learners in persistent conflict with school rules has left the department ill-equipped to place such learners appropriately.
Regarding immediate safety, Deacon acknowledged that short-term arrangements, such as having the learner write examinations in isolation, are manageable. However, he warned that sustaining education under such conditions beyond the exam period is impractical without departmental support. “If the department doesn’t come to the table, then the schools are really in a very difficult situation,” he said.
Deacon outlined potential next steps, including lodging formal complaints through teacher unions and provincial structures, or pursuing a court application to compel the department to assume responsibility for the learner. However, he noted that legal review processes are costly and time-consuming, and many school communities lack the financial resources to challenge administrative decisions effectively.
The timing of the case has intensified concerns about school safety. Two learners died in separate stabbing incidents around the same period, and the disciplinary committee in this case explicitly noted that violence is “almost always preceded by ignored warning signs.”
“The department’s been out in the media to say we protect the learners and we protect the schools and our teachers,” Deacon said. “Now this is your opportunity to prove that, and they fail that. They’re failing the system—not only failing the learners at that specific school, but sending a message to all other teachers and schools: ‘You’re on your own. We don’t care about you.'”
Deacon emphasized that discipline and safety are societal issues requiring partnership among schools, parents, communities, and government. “It takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “When you don’t act, when other learners’ education is in jeopardy, you send a message that their rights don’t count. Schools are simply a mirror of what’s happening in our communities.”
He called for the placement of social workers in every school to facilitate collaboration among stakeholders and better support vulnerable learners and families.
The school governing body has indicated it may seek judicial review of the department’s decision. While FEDSAS has expressed willingness to support legal action, Deacon stressed that ongoing engagement between parties remains the preferred path toward resolution.
“For now,” he said, “the threat of legal action may force the department back to the consultation table. I really hope they can reach an agreement—because our children are in those schools, and lip service is not enough.”
