Gauteng Legislature calls for implementation of school safety

As schools across Gauteng reopen for the 2025 academic year tomorrow, the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety has called on various Government Departments to prioritize the implementation of recommendations of a Focused Intervention Study (FIS) on School Safety.

The FIS titled “Assessing the Effectiveness of School Safety Interventions in Fighting Crime in Gauteng Schools”, was tabled and formally adopted during a House Sitting of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature last year and was jointly conducted by the Portfolio Committees on Community Safety and Education as a result of the prevalence of violent crimes in Gauteng schools.

The FIS was focused on assessing the effectiveness of programmes of various government departments, which are aimed at creating safer learning environments at schools across the province.

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Amongst others, the objectives of the study were to investigate factors contributing to the scourge of violence at schools, ascertain the level of implementation of safety plans, the multi-disciplinary diversion programmes, as well
as the impact of the adopt-a-cop programme in deterring criminal behavior at schools.

In gathering data for the FIS both Committees of the Legislature conducted unannounced oversight visits at several schools which are among the 75 high-risk schools in the Province, as well as conducting stakeholder engagement sessions with key and relevant stakeholders within the education and safety sector.

In one of the schools that the Committees visited, Eldorado Park Secondary School, a learner was stabbed during the joint Committee oversight visit, revealing the shocking state of safety in schools.

Some of the joint Committee findings exposed shocking realities of learners carrying dangerous weapons, illicit substances being abused on school premises and disturbing incidents of bullying, gangsterism, and tribalism leaving both learners and educators at risk.

Several recommendations have been made to Government Departments, demanding urgent implementation to prevent further tragedies and they include:

➢ The Department of Community Safety in collaboration with Law enforcement Agencies must enhance the random school search interventions to curb violent behavior including the carrying of dangerous weapons and the use of illicit substances by learners at schools.

➢ The Department of Education jointly with the Department of Community Safety must strengthen the deployment of security personnel such as Gauteng Traffic Wardens, security guards, or patrollers to enhance visible policing and maintain law and order at schools.

Also, enhance efforts of installing CCTV cameras to ensure that learners, educators, and school physical environs are completely safeguarded.

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➢ The Departments of Community Safety, Education, and Social Development jointly develop and implement a multidisciplinary strategy to curb the scourge of illegal substance and drug abuse within school premises The relevant Departments have been given until the 28th of February 2025 to submit an integrated report to the Legislature on all the recommendations contained in the FIS report.

The Committee warns that failure to act on these recommendations could lead to
escalating violence, further endangering the future of Gauteng learners and educators.