Learner suspended after stabbing at school
The 15-year-old learner from Mountain View Secondary School in Bergsig who allegedly stabbed a 17-year-old fellow learner on the school grounds on August 28, has been suspended for seven school days, the Gauteng Department of Education said.
According to Phumla Sekhonyane (departmental spokesperson) the teenager was suspended for a week following the incident and will be sitting for a disciplinary hearing on September 8. Sekhonyane said in a statement that counselling will be provided to the learner who was stabbed.
The incident is alleged to have happened at around 11:00. According to a source who declined to be named: “The 15-year-old learner reportedly saw the 17-year-old chasing one of his friends. Thinking that his friend was in trouble he apparently drew a knife and attacked the older learner. It later emerged however that the older learner and the friend were merely playing a game.” The learner who was stabbed was taken to Life Suikerbosrand Clinic for treatment. He is said to have recovered from the incident.
Mountain View Secondary School’s principal Steven Nel declined to comment and referred all enquiries to the Gauteng Department of Education. Although the police attended the scene, the parents of the learner who was stapped decided not to open a case. Capt Thivhulawi Tshilate (police spokesperson) confirmed this. It is further alleged that the police, during their visit, found another knife on the school premises, hidden underneath one of the temporary classrooms. The incident follows less than a month after the Gauteng Department of Education, police and other role-players visited the school as part of an information session against school based violence, gangsterism, drug abuse, cyber bullying and other related serious misdemeanours. According to Sekhonyane, MEC Panyaza Lesufi has identified learner discipline as one of the priorities of the department.
“Plans are afoot to establish a permanent learner tribunal to assist the MEC in matters relating to school based violence, gangsterism, drug abuse, cyber bullying and other related serious misdemeanours. “The MEC wants cases of this nature to be expedited as well as ensuring that the department is proactive in identifying preventative strategies to eliminate social ills from the school environment,” she said. Mountain View Secondary School was officially opened in January this year.
