Johannesburg - Serious concerns have been raised about the ill-discipline among pupils, especially in Gauteng, after incidents of stabbings, drinking sprees and fights at a number of schools came to light this week.
A Grade 8 learner was stabbed in the neck by another pupil outside Altmont Technical High School in Soweto yesterday.
The boy was rushed to a nearby clinic and was later transferred to a hospital to receive further medical attention. Fortunately he was discharged before midnight and is now at home recovering.
However, the Grade 9 learner who stabbed him faces suspension and other pending disciplinary processes while police are also investigating the incident.
On the same day, a group of matric pupils from Wendywood High School in Sandton reportedly bunked school to go on a drinking spree at a nearby park. The learners, inebriated with alcohol, returned to school and started a fight with a group of learners from Grade 10 and Grade 11. The police had to be called in.
This drunken brawl resulted in seven Grade 12 learners being taken into custody by Sandton police.
According to the Gauteng Department of Education, the learners have since been released on R1 000 bail each, however, they still face suspension and further disciplinary action for their unruly behaviour.
Another incident of assault was reported the previous week when a Grade 9 girl from Pretoria Central High School was assaulted by five other girls during school hours on school premises.
The department said the assault was with an intent to do grievous bodily harm, as part of the learner’s hair was removed from her scalp, resulting in head bruising and swelling.
The five learners who attacked their fellow schoolmate were identified and suspended as they await a disciplinary hearing for their actions.
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane said he was extremely concerned about cases related to ill-discipline among learners at the local schools.
He said that the department has dispatched its psycho-social support team to all affected schools to offer necessary support.
“We strongly condemn acts of ill-discipline and unruly behaviour by learners at our schools. We must remind all learners, parents and communities at large, that our schools are institutions of learning and teaching,” he said.
Adding to the incidents involving learners, a group of parents from TM Lethlake Secondary School in Bekkersdal forcefully locked the gates of the school and prevented learners from attending class.
According to the department, the parents were protesting issues at the school, including the appointment of a new principal.
They also want disciplinary action to be taken against educators who are allegedly not teaching learners, and the implementation of the school’s code of conduct against learner misconduct at the school.
“Our district officials held a meeting with the parents, where they were assured that these issues will be investigated and attended to accordingly. An administrator has been deployed to ensure that learning and teaching resumes at the school today,” Chiloane said.
The MEC further appealed to parents and learners to treat learning institutions with respect. He warned that any form of ill-discipline and unruly behaviour will be met with disciplinary action, and legal action if necessary.
Last month, a Richards Bay school principal penned a stern letter to the parents of learners at the school after management was experiencing added discipline problems, especially with pupils in Grades 8 and 9.
Janienne King, principal of John Ross College, an English medium high school in Richards Bay said the pupils in Grades 10 and 11 have also been problematic, as many have been bunking classes.
In a desperate attempt to rein the children in, King addressed a stern letter to parents informing them of their children’s misdemeanours and asking for their assistance in disciplining them.
“Schools are not babysitting institutions but learning institutions,” read part of the letter penned by King.
She said that while she was well aware that the heads of departments (HODs) were in constant contact with parents by phone, she signs warning letters every day.