It is thought that gangs and severe mental stress are some of the causes of the current uptick in violence in Gauteng schools. The pandemic is causing alarm among student organisations, counsellors, and educational authorities.
Some high school students claim that occasional conflicts amongst peers are commonplace.
I frequently fought with certain girls for, I believe, jealousy. They argue with other students and instructors at school because they talk about me a lot and some of them experience abuse at home, a learner says.
“I feel like the instructors are overloaded and they can’t do much at this time,” adds another learner.
“They are out of control; they quarrel frequently and blame the parents for their lack of ability to discipline their children.”
Sometimes confrontations between teenagers that seem harmless turn fatal. An eighth-grader at Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan, Ekurhuleni, was fatally stabbed last week. This happened following a brawl that purportedly broke out in class when three males pepper-sprayed other students.
The accused returned after lessons were over, and a new altercation started. The student in grade 10 died as a result of this.
These violent acts, however, are not random and may be the result of serious psychological or domestic problems. Hansraj Mitha from a youth organisation called Vuka Shokho says they often visit a number of schools in Johannesburg to ascertain what issues learners are grappling with.
“The students seem to be on an upward trend. It manifests itself physically in acts of violence, bullying, suicide, and victimisation. And this is what kids are learning from the outside world to which they are exposed. There is a part of them that is uneasy since they are growing up in townships and informal settlements,” according to Mitha.
All those affected, according to the Gauteng Education Department, will get counselling.