They are ‘in conflict with the law’
there are teachers and we offer education as a programme. For example, you go to the Western Cape: social development has appointed teachers on its own. It’s not as if in all 31 care centres there is no education,” he said, referring to the period during which the centre did not offer formal education.
Mqonci was quick to point out that the Soshanguve centre has been open for only four years. He explained that the departments of education and social development have had numerous discussions about the need for educational facilities.
“The reason there was no education in this [Soshanguve] facility is that it is in the same area as a children’s home. Children from that home have always been transported by buses to community schools near the facility. Hence there was no evident need to have teachers in the facilities.
“When we started with this facility there was some back and forth with the department of education and social development about opening a new school here. Education was arguing that they had been operating here for many years so why do we need a school inside the building when there are schools we have been utilising in the past.
“So we had to now explain that they [the children] cannot be moving out when we don’t have the resources and the expertise to do that,” said Mqonci.
This problem of departments not communicating properly — and children missing out on schooling — is one of the reasons Tarryn Cooper-bell, a lawyer with the Equal Education Law Centre, conducted research into children in conflict with the law — and how they are educated.
The study released last year, focusing on the Western Cape, is one of the very few pieces of extensive research into educating children in conflict with the law.
Cooper-bell told the M&G: “Many of these children fall through the cracks. And why I say this is that in all of the centres we visited, education was compulsory. It was very clear that these centres identified the importance of education in rehabilitating the learners and these children.”
The problem, the study found, was that children are released and then they are in the domain of another department.
“The majority of the time the children don’t end up going back to school, and then obviously fall back into the cycle of violence,” she said.
The study also found that when children arrive at these centres there is usually quite a big learning gap, as some of them have been part of gangs or have been neglected.
The report said that at the Horizon Child and Youth Care Centre, in Clanwilliam in the Western Cape, on entry each child is assessed by a social worker, who draws up both a care plan and an individual development plan.
All sorts of problems are picked up at this point. The study found that: “A challenge experienced by the centre is that, upon admission to the centre, most of the learners have been out of school for extended periods of time. It is, therefore, difficult to get the learners into a school routine and difficult to change their mindsets with regards to education.”
Cooper-bell and her team visited many other centres, finding inconsistencies — but also innovation — in how they work. At the Vredelus Secure Care Centre in Elsies River, for example, students get points for attendance. At the end of each month, these can be converted to purchase sweets, chips or help them qualify for a holiday.
As well as the inconsistency in education, Cooper-bell found that there does not seem to be a safety net in place for these children when they are released.
“The departments need to speak to each other. There [are] social development or correctional services, education and justice, who need to speak to each other to ensure these kids don’t fall through the cracks. This is especially in light of these children being such vulnerable individuals. Education is so important for the rehabilitation of these centres and to get them out of that cycle,” she said.
Despite the failings of the system in numerous cases, there are some success stories.
Ntando* was incarcerated for five years for numerous cases of theft from his small town in the Northern Cape.
While serving his time at the De Aar Child and Youth Care Centre, he joined a mainstream school at which he completed grade 10.
He told the M&G: “I got my NQF level 4 there. We studied maths literacy, English and other subjects like ordinary kids. Back at the centre we made furniture; [we] were taught computer literacy and woodwork. I enjoyed school and excelled.”
Ntando has been back home in the Northern Cape for four years. He returned to school and studied at the Northern Cape college.
“I want to give back to my community by teaching other children who are in the same situation as I was that it’s not okay. They have a bigger purpose in this life.”
* Pseudonyms have been used to protect the children’s identities.
This story has been produced in collaboration with the Isuelihle project, which was launched in 2016 by Media Monitoring Africa to focus on reporting on children by funding reporting on that topic