Alex schools have long been battered by violence, with learners linked to certain gangs fighting across different schools. According to CPF interim chairperson Sibabalo Mgijima, much of this violence is tied to battles over drug territories.

Although authorities conduct searches at high schools to root out drugs and weapons, Mgijima said these searches do not even scratch the surface, especially considering the scale of the problem.

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He said that just recently, one learner was found with drugs, and this was not an isolated case. Learners from different high schools have been caught with drugs during police searches. But what is perturbing, according to Mgijima, is not only that learners are found with drugs but that some have been recruited to trade drugs.

He said that some learners are acting as runners for drug lords. “At schools, some learners fight over territories to sell drugs. If you ask in these schools, they will tell you that so and so is troublesome. Those are pushers who fight with other gangs that are pushing,” Mgijima said.

He said these violent incidents, along with others that are not linked to drugs, instil fear. “There is a learner who was stabbed three times; now he is afraid to go to school,” Mgijima said.

@caxtonjoburgnorth CPF interim chairperson Sibabalo Mgijima says fights among high school learners are often planned at home before spilling into classrooms. He appeals to parents to teach their children good manners to curb the violence. Video: Itumeleng Maloka #Alex #CPF ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

He also noted that parents live with constant anxiety. “The pain is that a parent goes to work and has to deal with the thought that their child might be stabbed.”

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Mgijima believes the solution lies in having a direct engagement with learners. “With searches alone, you’d find that in an ocean, you will just catch one fish. We need to talk with the learners, not about them.”

He said in 2020, when the schools were battered by these violent incidents, they managed to tackle it through engaging with the learners. “We had a few incidents of this kind, we engaged with the learners to find out what the problem was, and the situation became better.”

He said the same way they dealt with violence six years ago is the same way they can deal with it now.

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