Pretoria - The Gauteng Education Department is taking decisive action to change the landscape of school grounds, which have been marred by alarming reports of incidents of sexual abuse and violence.
Between 2009 and 2010 alone, there were 131 incidents of sexual abuse, 108 of violence, 317 of possession of drugs and 55 of possession of lethal weapons in the province.
The department is now firmly putting its foot down to restore the culture of safety in schools and to help bring them back to their intended role of being places of growth and learning.
Under no illusions about the realities confronting today's school-going generation, department spokesperson Charles Phahlane acknowledged that there was cause for concern.
"This is the reason we have developed a strategy to deal with school safety," he said.
Phahlane said that a budget has been allocated for the implementation of the School Safety Strategy. The price tag attached to the strategy will be made known early next year.
The department has appointed Zondi Nkuna as the director of the programme.
"From January, the new director will start to develop capacity to decrease incidents in our schools," Phahlane said.
Among Nkuna's responsibilities is to ensure that schools have relevant safety policies and assist them with implementing classroom discipline in the absence of corporal punishment.
The department collects statistics on violent incidents and child abuse reported in provincial schools in order to more adequately target interventions in high risk schools and communities.
As part of the strategy, the department has formed a partnership with the provincial Departments of Community Safety and Health and Social Development. These two departments will be given access to schools to roll out safety programmes.
The department is also working closely with the South African Police Services to help them deal with cases of violence and abuse.
