Groutville school pupils plead for police intervention

Groutville school pupils have had enough and have asked the police to step in and decisively deal with uncontrolled drug dealing and gangsterism in their schools.

Speaking on behalf of their fellow pupils, two brave boys from Nonhlevu Secondary and Groutville High School spoke up about the challenges they face.

One told the crime imbizo held in Thembeni last Friday that they have to deal with bullying every day from pupils who are involved in drug dealing.

The situation is so bad, he said, that even going to the school bathroom is a challenge as pupils are robbed of their transport money. Those who are gang members armed with knives also disrupt learning in class and force fellow pupils to sell their drugs.

“My mother gives me money for transport daily, but what she does not know is that I only take transport in the morning. When I get to school, the rest will be taken by these armed gangsters. They have turned our school into a business place and those who want to learn are suffering. Please, we need help from the police to stop this,” said the young man.

The other boy said teachers risk their lives to protect pupils from the drug dealers.

“One teacher even went out of his way to help a troubled pupil who became a target by daily transporting him to and from school.

The boy said the police should take action because it’s their responsibility to maintain safety, not that of the teachers.

“Teachers are supposed to be focused on educating us, not keeping us safe. That is the job of the police but we are not seeing the police stopping this issue. What breaks my heart more is that parents of these children are siding with them, meaning they see nothing wrong with their children’s conduct.”

iLembe cluster police commissioner, major general Anthony Gopaul, promised to address the pupils’ concerns.

“I will make it my responsibility and visit these schools and attend to the issues raised by these pupils.”

Last year the Courier reported that the use of the prescription drug Xanax has become a serious problem in some schools in KwaDukuza.

Dealers were using pupils to sell the drug and incidents of pupils being caught selling or being under the influence of the drug have been reported in Groutville, the KwaDukuza central business district and Glenhills.

Xanax is typically used to manage anxiety disorders.

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