Johannesburg - The Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, said tackling violence and school infrastructure remained their key priority.
Motshekga was speaking during a Parliamentary Debate on State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Wednesday at the Cape Town City Hall.
Addressing social ills in schools, such as bullying, gender-based violence (GBV), child pregnancy, alcohol, and drug peddling, she mentioned that the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) continued to be their strategic response to violence, bullying and abuse in schools.
“The framework calls on all stakeholders in schools management: teachers, unions, parents, learners, and communities, to work together to make schools safe and drug-free spaces, where all learners can learn and thrive,” she said.
Motshekga indicated that quality education could be achieved if learners and teachers were safe and healthy, “if schools are caring and conducive spaces, free from violence, abuse, and harm.”
“Our schools must be safe, weapons-free, substance-free spaces for learners and teachers, where corporal punishment, sexual abuse, gender-based violence, homophobia, racism, substance abuse and bullying are not tolerated,” she said.
Motshekga was reflecting on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to institutionalise Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) as a tool to improve learner outcomes. Ramaphosa made the call during the Basic Education Lekgotla.
She further said they would continue to work closely with the South African Police Services (SAPS) and community organisations to improve safety in all schools.
Despite the violence in schools, the minister said young women and girls in the adolescent stage remained the most vulnerable cohort in schools and society.
She highlighted that girls face complex and serious challenges, including HIV/Aids, gender-based violence, rape, abuse, and early and unintended pregnancy.
“Whilst we have significantly reduced adolescent fertility rates over the last few decades, the numbers of early and unintended pregnancies amongst adolescent girls and young women remain unacceptably high,” she said.
Motshekga said the DBE, working with other government departments and partners, would continue to work and support young women and girls in schools.
Meanwhile, regarding closing the infrastructure gap, challenges and progress at schools, she said they were looking at different ways of dealing with the challenge, which, amongst others, including changing the framework for the Education Infrastructure Grant, the delivery model for different types of structures.
“We will be giving a dedicated report back on infrastructure in education because infrastructure delivery has become one of our most seriously challenging areas,” she said.
According to the Motshekga, the DBE, working with its provincial counterparts, has built 315 new schools, completed water supply projects at 1 259 schools and electricity supply projects at 373 schools.
With regard to sanitation, she said 2 500 schools had been supplied with age-appropriate sanitation facilities through the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) programme.
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