Call for prosecution of school disrupters

PEOPLE who disrupt children’s access to education during protests should be arrested and prosecuted, according to a new report.

Released by the SA Human Rights Commission yesterday, the report explores the impact of protests on the right to basic education in South Africa.

Researchers suggested that although there had been severe disruptions at schools during protests, no action had been reportedly taken against people who had deliberately interfered with the right to basic education.

SAHRC international liaison officer Judith Cohen said the lack of prosecution further sent a negative message that there were no consequences for acts of criminality during protests.

“There are provisions in the law which can be used to take the necessary action against protesters who acted in a criminal manner.”

The report comes four months after the violent protests in Vuwani, Limpopo, which saw 24 schools torched or vandalised, and more than 50 closed.

According to the report, the government’s response to incidents that affected schools was too slow and inadequate, with no uniform policy or approach in place to deal with such incidents.

In its submission to the commission, the SA Police Service said its public order policing units – which managed protests – lacked sufficient personnel.

There were 28 units with slightly more than 4 200 members to maintain order during about 13 000 protests a year.

According to police, there was no intelligence suggesting that schools would be targeted during the Vuwani unrest, leaving them without measures in place to prevent the incidents that unfolded.

Through its monitoring of protest action nationwide over the past five years, the commission concluded that the protests had little to do with basic education.

National Association of School Governing Bodies general secretary Matakanye Matakanya said communities should be made aware of the value of education.