‘Parents have a role’

Rusthof stabbing exposes the issue of dangerous weapons at school

JUST three months into the 2019 school year, 17 pupils have been involved in knifing incidents in the Western Cape.

The latest saw a Rusthof Secondary School Grade 8 pupil in Strand rushed to hospital after he was stabbed by a Grade 9 pupil following an altercation over money. They were allegedly gambling during interval.

Provincial Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said while much is being done to advocate for weapon-free schools, pupils still find the means to bring weapons onto the premises.

“It is concerning that such an aggressive act happened in a school and that the pupil was carrying a weapon at the time. The WCED (Western Cape Education Department) is aware that some pupils gamble during interval as a means of entertainment and has advocated against this practice.”

Educational psychologist Dr Ken Resnick said there are many factors that lead to children being violent, but it all boiled down to how they were raised.

“Parents need to know what they are doing and need to help their children to become independent.

“What used to be rare has become more common and someone has to step in cause something needs to be done,” said Resnick.

He said it was easier to rectify problems seen in a child when they were young.

“When they become an adolescent, it gets much harder. The parents need to be the authority figure.

“Children are born with all the potential in the world and rely on parents to show them the way.”

South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary Jonovan Rustin said more searchand-seizure operations needed to be implemented in schools.

“Sadtu regrets that the stabbing took place at Rusthof.

‘‘We are calling on communities to ensure pupils do not come to school with dangerous weapons cause their lives are precious. We are calling on the department to urgently arrange with police to do searches at schools that are hotspots,” said Rustin.

Sinoville Crisis Centre chief executive Colleen Strauss said interventions need to be put in place to address scourge of violence faced by children.

“According to statistics released in Parliament last year, (it is) indicated that 41% of all reported rape cases over the past three years involved children. In the same period, more than 2 600 children were murdered.

‘‘Furthermore, tens of thousands of babies (were) abandoned across the country (two out of three of whom are reported to have died), and 99% of the children studied had witnessed violence or been a victim of it.”