GAUTENG Education MEC, Matome Chiloane, visited Dinokaneng Secondary School in Sebokeng, south of Joburg on Monday, 27 February.
This after a pupil, Tumelo Jwili, was stabbed with a screwdriver over a cellphone on Thursday, 23 February. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
On Friday, 24 February, parents and pupils closed the school gates because of gangsterism in the school.
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Chiloane said it hurts to visit families every week because of painful incidents.
"Parents send their kids to school hoping they will be safe," he said.
According to Chiloane, the department will increase security that is needed at schools.
“We will make sure that learning starts on time and teachers are in class all the time. We are going to make sure that from now on we protect and secure schools in the province, especially the hotspot ones.
“We need to ensure we provide every necessary protection we can for these learners. It must be known that schools are not playgrounds for gangsterism and it also requires community members to come back here and protect the school,” said Chiloane.
Tumelo's sister, Lerato (23), said the principal should have used her car to take her brother to hospital after he was stabbed.
“Why didn’t the principal take my brother to hospital 15 minutes after he was stabbed? He could have been saved by doctors, but it took a community member to take my brother to hospital after one hour 15 minutes,’ she said.
“The principal texted the family and said the school protocol doesn’t allow teachers to take kids to hospital," she said.
Gauteng police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, said a 20-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with murder.
"He appeared before the Sebokeng Magistrates Court on Monday," said Masondo.
