Put a stop to thuggery at our schools

Every decent human being who saw the video clip of a boy savagely beating a pupil on school premises in KwaZulu-Natal would have been horrified.

Thanks to social media, we now know that the incident happened last November at Siyathuthuka High School in Inanda, Durban.

The school – on becoming aware of the savagery – apparently did nothing. The police basically sent the father of the child away when he came to report the beating, and no case was opened.

Sadly, this is the typical experience of black people at the hands of fellow blacks in positions of authority in predominantly black areas. Yet we expect other races to treat us as human beings when we fail to treat our own with decency and respect. But we digress.

Discipline and order have completely broken down in many of these schools. Which is why parents who can afford it send their children to former whitesonly schools in the suburbs – at a huge expense when calculating transport and school fees.

Vulnerable children get beaten by thugs, who are in some cases high on drugs such as nyaope. The teachers live in fear of the thugs in school uniform and for the sake of self-preservation, look the other way when criminal acts occur, sometimes in front of them.

At Siyathuthuka, the school management was apparently aware of the crime but failed to act. For context, and to provide some explanation for the inaction, the school is located in a lawless community. For example, a former principal was allegedly murdered over a fight for the post of principal some years ago.

Without the support of the community, it would be impossible for the school management to impose order and discipline.

What needs to be done? The boy, no matter his age, needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The Department of Basic Education needs to offer the victim psychological counseling so she can begin the process of healing.

The department has lost its grip on the goings-on in many schools.

We hope that some day in the future we will have the political will to bring back order and discipline in our schools.

The future of millions of our children, indeed our country, depends on it.