Children at Risk: The Security Situation
in Durban Schools
Dr R A Griggs, Head of Research
A briefing presented to a broad spectrum of community, provincial and national leaders in the field of
education on 18 November 1997
This briefing has two aims: (1) to deliver a report on the problems of security that the
research department noted in the course of monitoring our training programmes in ten Durban
schools; and (2) to stimulate a group problem solving activity, the outcome of which should be
a clear idea of what action(s) we can take by early 1998 to combat violence in the schools.
The goal of this research programme was to monitor the factors that either facilitate or obstruct
the IPT's schools-based training programmes in conflict management skills. Our research looked
at ten secondary schools in Durban: 2 in Chatsworth, 2 in Newlands East, 4 in KwaMashu, one
in Phoenix, and one in Durban North. As a baseline for our two-year study we had to learn about
the current degree of violence in the schools. This briefing concerns that first segment of our
research programme.
To achieve this:
- Approximately 1000 questionnaires were administered to pupils, teachers, and principals
- 90-minute focus group discussions were held with groups of 6 or more learners from all
ten schools.
- 90 minute to two hour focus groups were organised with two to three educators from
each school.
- Individual interviews were conducted with educators, parents, police, counsellors, and
education officials including union representatives.
- We also observed or participated in numerous conferences, monitored legislation affecting
schools, and participated in workshops.
Our research findings indicate that we should act on the problems posed by school violence fast
and at the grassroots level. Both the incidence and severity of school violence is destroying the
basic environmental conditions required to provide an adequate education and could undermine
many programmes aimed at upgrading our schools.
A local response is required because of the severe shortage of national and provincial funds for
school security. In 1998 there will be no funding from either the provincial or national level to
provide for security guards let alone metal detectors, fencing, workshops, and training. Of the
6.1 billion rand allocated for education and culture in 1998, 5.3 billion rand will cover our
province's 5,340 schools. Of that, 5.1 billion rand will be needed for salaries. This leaves 200
million rand for all else. Last year 25 million rand was spent on security and a tiny fraction on
books. This led to the decision to eliminate security guards so that more money would be
available for much-needed books, programmes, and equipment.
School governing bodies must now raise the fees for security and many other budgetary shortfalls.
Unfortunately, many lack the expertise or ability to do this. They are also confronted by parental
resistance to increased fees and responsibilities. Thus, major social obligations and material costs
are being directed to school governing bodies from higher levels of government while some
parents are resisting this 'imposition'.
Isibonelo Secondary School in KwaMashu furnishes an example of this problem. School fees per
pupil have been set at R30 a year. (For comparison, Northwood's per pupil fees for 1998 are 166
times higher or R4,950). The KwaMashu school might be able to collect R30,000 from its 1000
parents except only half the parents are willing to pay. With R15,000, they must cover lights,
electricity, water, maintenance, extra teaching staff, and security measures such as guards and
adequate fencing. Proper fencing and gates would cost about R200,000. In the meantime,
shootings, robbery, theft, extortion, rape and murder have affected this school.
Secure environments for learning should be the first priority of any educational policy. At
education conferences, summits, and in media coverage the shortages of classrooms, equipment,
teachers, and money is often prioritised over the tragedy of our children living in severe stress
owing to violence in the schools. However, better supplies do not offer a solution in environments
that are prone to arson, theft, vandalism, gang warfare and other forms of violence. For instance
computers delivered to upgrade the facilities in a KwaMashu school are kept in a safe unusedbecause the school is subjected to constant vandalism and theft both during and after school
hours.
Thus, an organised local response is required to rescue children and schools subjected to violence.
1. Five Big Problems
Here are five major problems that must be urgently addressed:
1.1 The number one problem in 9 out of the 10 schools studied: gang-related violence.
Informants in all ten schools we studied, whether children or adults, told us that their areas are
troubled by gang violence to one degree or another. The worst reports came from KwaMashu
and Newlands East. This portrait is supported by a recent national survey commissioned by
Business Day. It confirms that 70% of the people who live in urban townships live in fear of gang
violence.
We discovered that turf wars not only spill onto school grounds but the school itself is a territorial
prize. Gangs need a controlled area from which to sell drugs, collect revenue from theft, and
recruit members.
Some schools in our study were so destabilised by gangs that both children and staff members
enter and leave campus as they wish and classes are not conducted according to any regular
schedule. Sometimes teachers fear their own pupils who carry weapons, smoke dagga in the
toilets, and move off and onto school grounds freely. We also know of certain KwaMashu schools
where students cower in class during all the breaks for fear of gang members who enter and leave
the grounds as they please.
The school youth, so often the targets of gang activities, dare not talk as their well-being and the
lives of their families are then threatened. Gangs hunt down and sometimes kill learners who are
suspected of revealing their activities. Intimidation by gangs undermines all attempts at creating
a culture of learning and teaching. As one KwaMashu teenager told IPT, "To get close to
teachers leads the gang members to hate you".
1.2 Security measures were seriously inadequate in 9 out of ten of the schools.
The security conditions in nearly all the disadvantaged schools were appalling. The most basic
safeguards were either not in place or were being removed. These include adequate fencing,
police protection, weapons checks, and security guards. This not only creates a problem but
hampers solutions. We know of good people, educators, and counsellors who will not work in
disadvantaged schools because their security cannot be guaranteed.
Many schools have no fencing. Most have inadequate fencing. At Zakhe school, the attempt to
use rudimentary materials to re-seal the fences failed because gang members re-opened all the
gaps the next day.
Police protection is so inadequate that police response time can take days or weeks even in the
wake of murder. Gangs tend to operate with impunity in many school environments. This even
means engaging in murders that are never investigated. At Isibonelo Secondary School, a 16 year
old boy was shot on campus in late October. A week later no investigation had even been
attempted.
Weapons checks are rare. When they do occur learners are informed in advance and stash their
weapons. Last month at Mzuvele School, five armed youngsters marched into the school in
daylight hours and took jewellry off pupils at knife and gunpoint. No one stopped the boys at the
entrance, checked for weapons, or even followed them as suspect. No prosecutions or
investigations followed.
Security guards often act like gatekeepers, reading books and playing games at the entrance to
schools while criminals, weapons, and drugs slip in and out through holes in the fences. Most
guards also lack the skills training to handle violent conflict. One of several unarmed security
guards killed this year by gang members was shot at a Chatsworth school in April after
approaching armed youths robbing the tuckshop. In any case, they have been retrenched unless
the school governing bodies can afford to re-hire them.
1.3 No disadvantaged school in the study offered counselling for pupils despite the high
incidence and severity of violence.
Despite the high levels of trauma that accompany modern school life, there is no budget for
counsellors and no programme to provide them. Girls who have been raped or assaulted often
have no counselling afterwards. One principal in the Newlands area estimated that 30% of the
girls in his school had been raped or sexually molested. Statistics from the provincial Department
of Safety and Security indicate that the majority of rape victims are under 17, and 43% of the
rapes occur in the greater Durban area. Townships are particularly hard-hit. Last year one
Newlands pupil committed suicide because of constant molestation and rape. She pleaded for
help but there was no institution or person she could trust...no counsellor in her school.
1.4 In only one case did we find that learners were receiving an education in tolerance
and diversity even where intolerance for those of other races, cultures, religions, gender,
and sexual orientation was resulting in violence.
Walk into any classroom in a so-called 'integrated' school, and children are sitting in racial
groupings. Many classify each other by racial stereotypes and complain of racial groups that
smell, steal, or act in some uniform way. This leads to name-calling, fighting and occasional death
such as the stabbing at Forest Haven School in March.
Despite these problems only one out of ten of the schools studied offered workshops, curriculum
or guidance periods to address prejudice, stereotyping, and other related problems.
1.5 Parental apathy and indifference compromises the implementation of conflict
management programmes.
Interviews with educators, learners, parents, police, and education officials indicate that the low
level of parental involvement in the schools is a stumbling block to effective programmes. The
IPT receives reports from both pupils and teachers that parental participation is near absent. Most
secondary schools include more than a thousand pupils but a good turnout at important meetings
is fifty parents. The lack of parental involvement leads to lowered self-esteem among educators,
reduced financial support, and the inability to garner enough community co-operation to make
security programmes work.
Interviews with parents indicates that many are bitter and reluctant to pay school fees for both
economic reasons and because of broken promises: some believe that education should be
provided free by the government. Many say the constitution entitles every child to an education
but instead the outfall of government mismanagement and corruption has been passed along to
them. The governance of schools could easily be sabotaged by new resistance campaigns
launched by parents who refuse to pay fees.
Another problem is lack of parental co-operation with police. Many police fail to turn up to a
community to investigate gang killings because the community will not co-operate even when the
killer is well-known. We also know that some parents are involved in the same gangs as their
children and even incite them to violence. In one incident in Newlands, a mother provided her son
with a knife and directed him to stab another schoolboy.
2. Workshopping Solutions
This overview of the five biggest problems in combatting school violence should stimulate
some understanding of how to prioritise our responses. Here are five of many possible
responses:
2.1. Addressing Gang Violence
In many areas, gangs form out of unemployed youth with little to do and little hope in their future.
Boredom leads to drugs and that leads to the formation of groups that deal in drugs, claim
territory and eventually turn violent. Some boys come to believe that belonging to a gange offers
more hope for their future prosperity than a matric certificate.
The best solution is probably employment, even if this is organised community work without pay
or recreational activities. Youth given responsibilities such as repairing damaged homes or
participating in community watches can learn both skills and social responsibility. Thus, solutions
might include:
- An increase in organised sports, recreational, and community activities
- Mediation between gang members
- Parenting workshops
- Workshops between parents and police to increase community involvement in apprehending and arresting criminals
- sponsored awards programmes, peace days, and other activities to bring greater
solidarity to these communities
- technical training in schools that provide a practical hope of finding a job
2.2 Stepping Up Security
It may be that the fastest way to make a dent into school violence is to ensure that no one enters
the campus with weapons. In fact, confiscating weapons on school campuses might reduce overall
violence in the communities. This strategy requires body searches upon entry to campus. This
is legal provide that constitutional rights are respected. Basically women must search girls, men
must search boys, and it must be done in a private space and not in public. Other ideas include:
- beefing up the training and supervision of security guard
- co-operation between schools and community policing forums
- around-the-clock school watches to protect pupils, staff, and school property.
- regular police patrols
- business-sponsored armed response units linked to trained security guards with walkie
talkies [originally suggested by Etienne Van der Merwe]
-
- workshops to improve community/police relations
- applying a range of stiff mechanisms to secure school grounds from trespassers (e.g., ID
card checks, weapons searches, lock-in school gates, school sirens, caretakers housed on
school grounds, or parental patrols).
2.3 Instituting Some Form of Counselling
Only two out of ten schools in our study had counsellors. Both were advantaged schools. Yet
it is the disadvantaged schools that cannot afford counsellors that have the greatest need. If the
disadvantaged schools had counselling at all it was because of occasional visits by social workers.
However, learners said this failed to address this problem because they had no chance to know
and trust these 'visitors'.
A better solution might be to relieve well-liked and trusted teachers of sufficient teaching hours
to provide this necessary service. Such teachers already fulfill many counselling roles. Pupils
turn to them in times of emotional upset and trauma. They also help to supervise guidance
programmes such as conflict management training. However, most of these programmes are not
being instituted optimally because teachers are either too busy or not adequately trained. Better
training and a re-working of teaching responsibilities and schedules might not be the ideal solution
but could help enormously. NGOs might consider empowering these teachers with skills.
Perhaps this means:
- teachers with appropriate backgrounds could reduce their teaching hours to offer this on
a part-time basis
- NGOs could assist with teacher training
2.4 Conflict Management Skills Training and Diversity Workshops
Our research has shown that nearly 100% of the learners and educators who took part in our
questionnaires, report a significant improvement in their personal ability to understand and resolve
conflict following IPT training in conflict management. Furthermore, they express more
confidence in handling conflict among those who have had such training than among those who
have not. This work normally includes workshops in communication and listening skills,
assertiveness training, group problems solving, non-racialism and respect for different cultures.
In nine out of ten of the researched schools, we found that the only exposure to material on
understanding cultural diversity was offered through our CMS workshops. Many of those who
enroll in our programme express greater understanding of how stereotyping people incites
violence against other races, women, gays, religious groupings, and various cultures.
A vital aspect of our research also revealed that CMS training is most effective in an environment
where all role-players (e.g., learners, educators, and governing bodies) have been trained.
Sometimes training only half the school staff can actually increase problems as it creates
separation: those who have been trained and those who have not. This means we must implement
this programme thoroughly in each school. Perhaps this is best accomplished by having
government-backing to enlist all role-players for these programmes. Otherwise, many teachers
do not take the programme seriously and prefer time off to showing up at workshops.
Ultimately, if these problems are surmounted, we may be able to show that such conflict
management programmes not only help to lessen current tensions within schools but may foster
a generation conversant in sound methods of conflict management.
Perhaps this means:
- CMS should be implemented by government directive to include all teachers, learners and
governing bodies
- Sexism, racism, and other forms of stereotyping and prejudice should be included in all
conflict management programmes
- Diversity workshops should not await the new curriculum but should be implemented
immediately through co-operation with NGOs
- We should also lobby to see that material on this subject is integrated into new course
material
2.5 Campaigning Against Parental Apathy and Indifference
Despite widespread reports of parental apathy, indifference or resistance to participation in the
schools, interviews with learners and educators reveal that calling in parents is the most effective
form of discipline. The principal at Protea School in Chatsworth reports a lessening of violence
because disruptive and violent children are immediately suspended and cannot return without their
parents.
Perhaps this means:
- Parents must be targeted in the effort to reduce violence through parenting workshops
- NGOs should work with school governing bodies to facilitate ways to attract parental
involvement (e.g., news letters, social activities, and home visitations)
- Media campaigns might be instituted
- Ice-breaking activities and workshops facilitated by NGOs might help build joint
parent-teacher co-operation
- Awards ceremonies for good parenting and school days that celebrate the role of the
parent should be considered
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