Metal sensors, cops at schools debated

Fatal shooting of KZN pupil highlights need to act

THE KILLING of a pupil in a shooting incident at an Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal school has sparked a debate over whether more stringent security measures should be introduced in schools, including installing metal detectors and hiring armed security guards.

While parent bodies are willing to consider such measures to keep pupils safe, teachers’ unions are at odds over what some see as the “militarisation” of schools.

The National Teachers Union (Natu) is leading the charge for metal detectors to be installed at schools, and for armed security guards, in the wake of this week’s shooting at Empangeni’s Qantayi High School.

Last week, a 15-year-old Pietermaritzburg boy pleaded guilty in the city’s regional court to killing a peer, and the attempted murder of another.

The boy, who had taken his father’s gun to school, said he had had enough of being bullied, and so ended the life of his tormenter.

Yesterday, Natu deputy president Allen Thompson said the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department should employ armed guards to search pupils and seize guns, knives and other dangerous weapons.

Natu is also calling for police to patrol schools in the mornings and afternoons.

Thompson argued that with increased police visibility, pupils and outsiders would be deterred from criminal acts.

Thompson said the shooting at Qantayi High had happened in full view of pupils and teachers – and that the tragedy could have been averted if the school had metal detectors.

“For every 200 learners the department should employ one security guard, so if the school has 1 000 learners it will have five security guards. Security guards should search the bags of learners when they enter the school premises,” Thompson said.

“Faction fights (in communities) sometimes spill over into schools and you find pupils fighting and others carrying pangas and bush knives.

“That is why we are calling for metal detectors to be installed for the safety of our pupils and teachers.”

Tim Gordon, chief executive of the Governing Body Foundation, said while there should not be a one-size-fits-all approach for safety measures in schools, metal detectors and regular police presence outside the school gates could not be discounted.

“Schools are meant to be places of safety, so one is shattered and worried that a pupil could be killed on the school grounds. And there are some schools where the danger is greater than others. In a school with a high risk, one has to consider metal detectors.

“Any realistic plans to make schools safer would receive our support. But then the education budget is finite, and the only realistic option would be for money to be taken from the pot for teaching posts.”

Matakanye Matakanye, general secretary of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, said that if armed guards would save children’s lives, it warranted considering. “But there must be checks and balances in place so that children are not further endangered or victimised.”

Matakanye said his association ran a “adopt a cop” campaign, which saw a cluster of schools work closely with a nearby police station to quell crime and violence.

The national Basic Education Department recently argued strongly against the regular presence of police to curb the high incidence of violence in South African schools.

The National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA (Naptosa) and the SA Democratic Teachers Union have also warned against “militarising” schools. Yesterday, both unions advocated for more education around bullying, drugs and crime, and greater parental and community involvement.

“Rather have more teachers, with smaller classes, and administrative assistance,” Naptosa president Basil Manuel suggested.

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