PUPILS who usually bring dangerous weapons such as pangas and okapis to school will now have a tough time doing so.
This is because the Gauteng Department of Education has plans to get rid of violence at schools.
From now on, pupils and their bags will be scanned by metal detectors to check for dangerous weapons. And to tame bullies, they'll be taken to prison to get the feeling of what it's like to be in a cell.
These are some of the plans the department has come up with as part of Operation Kgutla Molao to eradicate violence at schools.
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane launched Operation Kgutla Molao at Sizwe Secondary School in Elandsfontein, Ekurhuleni on Tuesday, 10 October.
Operation Kgutla Molao is a safety programme that was recently launched by Chiloane in reaction to reports of safety concerns at Gauteng schools.
The operation aims to reduce incidents of violence, bullying, suicide, substance abuse and sexual harassment at schools.
"The department aims to achieve this by working together with the police, other government departments, members of the community, and non-governmental organisations," said Chiloane.
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He said Sizwe secondary is one of 75 prioritised schools on a list of 245 schools in the province that have been identified as high-risk.
The department highlighted prioritised high-risk schools using the following factors: Criminal acts against pupils, teachers, school management, school infrastructure and movable assets, drug and substance abuse on and off school premises, undesirable behaviour such as bullying, racism and sexual harassment, as well as more acts of misconduct.
Chiloane met the principals and SGBs of the 75 identified schools to re-emphasise implementation of these interventions:
*Deployment of four-armed security guards at each school
*Training of Schools Safety Committees by the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership Deployment of 500 learner support agents to rotate among these schools
*Activation of e-panic buttons for 3 000 staff members to be rolled out soon in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Community Safety
*Initiating patrols by crime prevention wardens (AmaPanyaza) around the schools in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Community Safety
*Installing CCTV cameras linked to a provincial command centre
*First aid training to be conducted for pupils as part of the Multi-Certification Skills Programme.
