Lebogang Maile, MEC for Education, Sports, Arts, Culture, and Recreation, reiterated that school safety was part of broader societal challenges, relating to crime, violence, substance abuse, and social instability.

At a media briefing on June 14 at Gauteng Gambling Board in Bramley, following the findings by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention, Maile revealed that there was a link between crimes in communities and incidents in schools. The Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention based its findings on the recent fourth-quarter crime statistics, which showed Gauteng had the highest crime rates, with a total of 118 311 crimes reported, representing 26% of all crime recorded in the country this year. “Factors that contributed to the high crime levels include school community gang conflicts, gang violence spilling into schools, presence of shebeens, and drug dens near schools,” said Maile.

Read more: MEC Parks Tau supports development of township entrepreneurs

He noted that, over the last five years, the department recorded incidents across selected crime categories in schools. These categories were identified based on the frequency with which they occur and their impact on teaching and learning. “Over this period, schools reported more than 4 100 incidents of vandalism, and more than 4 600 incidents of violence. The department also recorded close to 400 incidents of sexual misconduct and nearly 1 400 search and seizure cases.”

While the number of incidents has fluctuated over the years, the overall trend demonstrated that violence, vandalism, substance-related incidents, and learner misconduct remain significant challenges that require continued collaboration between schools, parents, communities, and law enforcement agencies.

Also read: MEC rescinds suspension but maintains he had a strong case

The MEC stressed that the figured remained a concern, as they continued to indicate that schools were under threat. “The Gauteng department of education is working closely with the South African Police Service under the 10-point protocol signed in 2025. Part of the protocol is searches and seizures and reporting and monitoring.”

The protocol aims to assist in consistent collation and analysis of crime and schools and implemented targeted interventions. “Following the identification of 245 high-risk schools through the department’s environmental scan, targeted interventions were introduced to support schools facing elevated safety risks.

“As part of these interventions, private security services were deployed to 75 schools, and later expanded to 121 schools identified as requiring additional protection and support.”

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration!