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'New' teacher stabbed 14 times
29/03/2007 10:04 - (SA)
Nivashni Nair
Durban - Security at schools came under the spotlight again on Wednesday when a Grade 10 pupil strolled into class and stabbed a teacher 14 times while she was writing on the board, killing her.
Just two months into her post as Life Orientation teacher at Thornwood Secondary School in Dassenhoek outside Pinetown, Phoenix-born Noculunga Ndala, 28, had no chance to defend herself when the 18-year-old pupil from another class walked into the classroom carrying a knife and attacked her while her back was turned.
Young pupils could only stare in horror as the teenager started stabbing Ndala in the back, stabbing her in the chest as she turned around.
Police and school officials were baffled about what prompted the vicious attack.
We don't have all the facts
"The suspect then ran out of the class and jumped over the fence," deputy principal Eric Makhaya told The Witness.
Ndala started teaching at Thornwood in February.
"She was new and had just come from tertiary education. I don't know what the argument was about but now we don't have all the facts. The pupils have been sent home because they are very upset." "The history of the pupil in question does not show that he was a trouble-maker or violent person," Makhaya said. "Everything is still being investigated. We have not managed to talk to all the pupils. We have to work to eradicate crime within school premises. There are systems in place but it does not look like they are working."
By late afternoon, the principal and other staff members were awaiting the arrival of an inspector from the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department to accompany them to the deceased's family home.
The National Teachers' Union (Natu) has demanded government declare security in schools a national priority, warning that ongoing violence in schools will scare teachers away from the profession.
"We will run into a huge shortage of teachers and the country will be in crisis. We need to look at employing more security guards or other security measures to ensure schools are safe. It is not only for teachers. What about the pupils? When something violent happens, it affects them too," Natu spokesperson Allan Thompson said.
Looming shortage of teachers
"Last year we called on the national safety and security minister to address the issue of safety in schools. This issue is beyond the powers of the education department."
"Therefore it should be declared a national priority. We were surprised to see that Trevor Manual did not mention safety in schools in his budget. "There are consequences to this," Thompson added, warning that South Africa could suffer a shortage of 150 000 teachers by 2015 if violence continues.
Questions remain how the student, who was arrested at around 16:30 on Wednesday, managed to get the weapon on to school property. South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) spokesperson Joseph Mota told The Witness that its call for the searching of pupils is ignored.
"Sadtu started a campaign over 10 years ago where we approached the education department to employ security guards in all schools but the real difficulty is that pupils are not searched for weapons when they come into school.
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Ina Cronje said she found the incident "totally unacceptable".
"The law must take its course. If these young people are found guilty they must be dealt with to the full extent of the law." "The incidents again emphasise the role of the parents and communities at large in laying the foundation for the behaviour and attitudes of our children," she said.
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