South Africa: Limpopo Education MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya has condemned an incident where two learners stabbed each other at Nngweni Secondary School in Nzhelele on Monday.
It is alleged that two grade eleven learners were involved in a fight where one learner sustained a cut on the hand, and the other was stabbed on the shoulder. It is alleged that the two learners attending the same class brought a knife and an axe to school. The injured learners were taken to the nearest clinic, and the matter was later referred to the Police.
The MEC says school violence is destructive and affects learning and teaching, most especially now when matric learners are busy with the preparatory examinations. The MEC is calling on all stakeholders and law enforcement agencies to assist in ensuring that schools remain a place for learning.
The MEC will convene a seminar to address bullying, gangsterism and in-school violence next month to seek ways to address the challenges.
“I want to make a plea to parents, teachers and all the interested stakeholders to ensure that our schools remain a place of learning. I am disturbed by the report of learners who stabbed each other with dangerous weapons that are not permitted on our school premises. The incident happened in the middle of Matric preliminary examinations, and it will surely have a negative impact on the learners writing in that particular school.” Says MEC Lerule-Ramakhanya.