The past few months have seen increased media coverage of school-based violence. These reports range from bullying and name-calling to murder. Some of these incidents have been normalised and are ignored and others have seen an outpouring of alarm and calls for more meaningful intervention.

In just over four months time our matric results will be published, and public discourse will centre around the performance, or lack thereof of our matriculants. Society however fails to pay much attention to what happens in the build up to that crucial time in the life of the matriculant.

As we draw to the close of women’s month, gender-based violence comes into focus. Felicia Wilson, a researcher has distinguished between explicit and implicit gender-based violence. Explicit gender-based violence includes sexual harassment, abuse, assault and rape. Implicit gender-based violence includes bulling, verbal and psychological abuse and other forms of aggressive behaviour. The girl child is exposed to such violation both from their male peers and teachers alike. Our schools mirror our broader society and thus reflect the attitudes and practices of its environment. These acts surely must contribute to psychological trauma to the victim. Because such psychological trauma cannot be seen with the eye it is largely ignored and the girl child is left to deal with it. Surely this must impact negatively on academic performance. How many perpetrators have been brought to book and frog-marched to prison we might ask?

Many schools have an initiation culture. Very often this leads to bullying and physical violence. Younger boys and girls are often left scared by the abuse arising from such initiation culture. Where does one draw the line between initiation and abuse?

In many areas gangs have infiltrated schools. Recent media reports have highlighted how this scourge has entered our schools. Turf and drug wars have found their place in this environment which was intended to be a safe environment, designed for the growth and development of future generations. It has recently been reported how gang fights have taken over some high school sin Ladysmith. Videos taken on cellphones show learners fighting, swearing and throwing object at each other. In certain areas of the Cape learners have been faced with gun shots emanating from gang fights. Those put in place to protect our young people have failed in this regard.

Violence between learners and educators has also received much attention. We have seen videos taken by learners of teachers physically beating up learners and of learners beating teachers. What would contribute to an adult who is appointed as loco parentis to disseminate was violence on a learner we might ask? In many of these cases, the adult had reached a point where they either had to defend themselves against a learner who had turned on them or had lost control of themselves. This cannot be normal. We cannot just accept that this is the reality. If no meaningful intervention is implemented, we cannot expect an improvement academic performance and in our education system.
The MEC for Education in the North West has recently blamed “overage learners” for perpetuating bullying and gangsterism in schools. A grade 10 learner who stabbed a 24-year-old teacher to death at a school in Zeerust and has been sentenced to a decade behind bars.

Elias Malindi, a spokesperson for the NW provincial education department spoke of a 17-year old who stabbed a grade 1 pupil to death at Dikeledi Makapan Primary School. Even though the compulsory schools age is up to 15 years and age, the national admission policy for ordinary schools does not allow for unfair discrimination against an applicant for admission. Stacy Jacobs from Equal Education says that to blame learners for all violence in schools is very unfair. The fact that there are so many older learners at school is a reflection of the failures in the system.

If we are resolute in our determination for an improved society, with higher levels of education and productivity, we urgently need to address not just the figures presented to us at the end of the matric examination, but on the myriad of factors contributing thereto.

Victor Smith | Training Academy Manager