APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) South Africa’s Gauteng province has resolved to deploy armed security guards and install CCTV cameras at schools in the region following a surge in crime and use of drugs at learning institutions.
The safety of pupils and teachers has become a concern in South African schools over the past few years amid an alarming rise in violent attacks on teachers and learners.
Provincial minister of education Matome Chiloane said during a meeting with heads of schools from Gauteng province on Tuesday that his department would deploy armed security guards at 75 priority schools in the region where criminality and drugs are rife.
He revealed that the 75 are part of 245 schools that have been identified as high risk in the province.
He said the CCTV cameras would be installed to monitor events at the targeted schools. The cameras would be linked to a provincial command centre.
Staff members at the 75 schools would be provided with e-panic buttons that they can be activated in case they are in danger, while metal detectors would be used at entry points at the priority learning institutions to ensure that students do not bring knives and guns to class.
The 75 were prioritised for urgent remedial actions following an increase in criminal acts against pupils, teachers, school management, and widespread use of drugs inside and outside school premises, Chiloane said.
Other vices that have prompted the latest action by the provincial government include vandalism of school infrastructure and movable assets and behaviour such as bullying, racism and sexual harassment.
Scores of teachers and learners have been killed over the past five years, with the South African Police Services announcing last November that 19 murders had been committed at educational facilities across the country in 2022 alone.
JN/APA