Gangsterism is having a severe negative impact on the education system and schools need to use all the tools at their disposal to address the matter, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Sunday.
In a statement on the outcomes of Thursday’s Council of Education Ministers (CEM) meeting, she said many of the provincial education MECs on the CEM had raised concerns over the growing problems related to gangsterism in schools.
“This is more often than not coupled with a prevalence of drugs and violence. Gangsterism is having a severe negative impact on the education system. It must be reiterated that violence and drugs cannot be tolerated at schools at all. Schools must use the tools they have at their disposal to address this matter,” Motshekga said.
The protocol between the basic education department and the South African Police Service also had to be used to maximum effect at the school level.
“We all need to work together in our communities to ensure that schools are safe spaces of teaching and learning. We cannot let our schools denigrate into facilities that become dangerous for learners and teachers; and it will take all our involvement to ensure that this does not happen. We cannot leave it to schools to fight this battle alone,” Motshekga said.
Turning to pupil wellness and psycho-social support, she said the psycho-social and economic realities of South Africa meant that schools were valuable centres of support with ever-increasing demands on teachers.
These included high rates of unemployment and poverty, high rates of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) infection, crime, orphanhood, violence, and child abuse. Shockingly research showed about 10 percent of all pupils in the system were orphans.
“We have, therefore, undertaken to review and strengthen psycho-social support to learners. With the approval by CEM of the new national policy on HIV, STIs, and TB on 20 May 2016, and the urgent need to massively improve the sexual and reproductive health education and services for adolescents in South Africa, in response also to the campaign for girls and young women launched by the deputy president in June 2016, it has become necessary for the department to once again re-focus the HIV and Aids life skills education programme,” Motshekga said.
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