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'We fear for our kids' lives'
25/01/2008 08:37 - (SA)
Ilse Fredericks, Die Burger
Cape Town - Teachers at a high school in Delft fear for their lives and refused to teach on Thursday after a robber, who was stabbed with a knife by a pupil, died as a result of his wounds.
The police dropped a murder charge against the Grade 9 pupil, 15, after police found that he'd acted in self-defence.
Blood on the school grounds bore silent testimony to the dramatic incident on Wednesday at Masibambisane High School.
The robber, 20, a former pupil at the school, arrived dressed in a school uniform and stole the pupil's cellphone and money. The pupil was also stabbed but fought back and stabbed the robber several times with a knife. The robber later died.
According to police spokesperson superintendent Andre Traut, five men initially entered the school grounds. The cellphone was found on the deceased, Bingihlalo Nkhontwana.
Riedewaan Davids, a matriculant, said the robber possibly gained entrance to the school grounds through the boys' toilets. "He came everyday to rob."
School 'robbed blind'
Traumatised teachers and other staff members said on Thursday they were terrorised by hoodlums every day and that the school was vandalised.
"Last year, somebody from outside tried to throw a brick at a teacher and prior to that, a teacher had also been threatened with a gun," said one of the staff members.
A teacher said the school had been robbed blind. "The writing boards were stolen. We don't have any lights. Almost all the windows panes were broken. The classrooms don't have doors." He added that the boys' toilets were carried away piece by piece and was a mess.
"We predicted that somebody was going to be murdered on the school grounds and now it as happened. We decided not to teach today (Thursday)."
Nicholus Maziya, the chairperson of the governing body, said safety was a huge problem and the education department had failed the school in this regard.
"We fear for the lives of our children. Bambanani volunteers were supposed to help safeguard the school, but they have left. They said the robbers were armed and they could not defend themselves."
He said the education department kept promising to resolve security problems at the school, but the problem still persists.
Dugmore to visit school
Maziya said after talks to the police it was decided that police members would be deployed at the school. Teachers were expected to return to their classrooms on Friday.
Meanwhile, Cameron Dugmore, the Western Cape minister of education, expressed his shock and anger at the incident and said learners would receive support, including counselling.
When asked whether Dugmore was aware of the poor conditions at the school, his spokesperson Gert Witbooi said Dugmore would visit the school on Friday to ascertain the problems.
Witbooi said the incident and the conditions at the school were being investigated.
Jonavon Rustin, provincial secretary of Sadtu teachers union, said the union regretted the incident. "According to the Consititution the government has a responsibility to ensure the safety of our pupils, teachers and other staff and must ensure that security at the school must be beefed up as soon as possible."
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