“Children learn from what they see in their homes and society.”

That is how clinical and sports psychologist Dr Keitumetse “Tumi” Mashego explains the surge of violence tearing through South African schools.

“We are an anxious, violent, stressed and wounded nation,” said Clinical and sports psychologist Dr Keitumetse “Tumi” Mashego. 

Brutal incidents are emerging across KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, North West, and beyond. Learners and teachers are facing stabbings, mob brawls, gang fights, and deep psychological scars, while school safety systems buckle under the pressure.

Mashego stressed that both victims and perpetrators often act from unresolved trauma. She called for schools to deploy multidisciplinary support teams made up of psychologists, social workers, and medical professionals.

“Teachers need debriefing as well because their work is stressful and puts them at risk for burnout.”

On Friday, August 22, a 17-year-old Grade 10 learner at Trenance Park Secondary School in the Pinetown District, KwaZulu-Natal, was stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife by two Grade 8 learners during school hours.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Education Sipho Hlomuka said, “We are relieved to report that his condition is stable, and we remain hopeful for his full recovery.” The attackers were arrested by Reaction Unit South Africa and handed over to SAPS.

In a separate KwaZulu-Natal incident, a mass brawl at Esther Payne Smith Secondary School in Northdale left two learners, aged 15 and 17, with deep lacerations to their heads and legs. Mi7 emergency services responded quickly and took the injured to hospital. A suspect was taken into custody.

“The safety and well-being of our learners remains our top priority,” Hlomuka said. “We condemn school violence. It has no place in our learning environments and in our communities.”

But the violence is by no means limited to KwaZulu-Natal. In Gauteng, six Grade 12 learners from Hoërskool Roodepoort were suspended following a brutal retaliation attack on August 19 that left three learners seriously injured and a principal stabbed while trying to intervene. The attack followed a viral video of a previous altercation at nearby West Ridge High School.

In June this year in Pretoria East, a Grade 11 pupil was fatally stabbed outside Lesedi Secondary School by a Grade 12 learner who was reportedly waiting for him after school near the scholar transport area. Gauteng police have opened a murder case.

The Eastern Cape has seen its share of violence too. Just last week, a Grade 9 learner from Enkwenkwezini Senior Secondary School in Alice was stabbed in the head and arm with scissors by two fellow learners. Provincial education authorities said staff acted swiftly to detain the perpetrators. A few days earlier, another learner was stabbed by a classmate at Daluhlanga Senior Secondary School.

Western Cape schools are also under pressure. A 17-year-old learner was stabbed in the face during a gang-related altercation involving learners from Bloekombos and Masibambane secondary schools in Kraaifontein last year.  Knives and other weapons were discovered in schoolbags, prompting security concerns.

More recently, an 11-year-old girl in the same Kraaifontein area was shot and killed outside her home in a gang shooting. While not directly tied to school grounds, the killing triggered renewed concern over how community violence follows children into classrooms.

In the North West province, a Grade 10 pupil died after allegedly being forced to run laps as punishment for being late. The Department of Education confirmed the learner collapsed shortly after and was declared dead. The school is under investigation, and the family is demanding accountability.

National crime statistics further underscore the urgency. According to SAPS 2024/2025 data, 74 rape cases and 12 murders were reported on school premises between April and June 2024 alone. Across the country, nearly 273 children under the age of 18 were murdered, an average of nearly three per day.

These attacks come months after the national launch of the Safe School Protocol by  Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube and the now suspended Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu. The initiative aims to improve school safety through stronger partnerships between schools, law enforcement, and social services. However, recent statistics suggest the problem remains deeply entrenched.

The public’s concern has also been fuelled by a surge in videos of school fights and stabbings going viral on social media. But not all incidents reach the public eye, according to the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA).

“The recent spate of school violence in KZN schools has grabbed the attention of the public because the videos have gone viral; however, there are other violent episodes in schools that are not brought to the public’s attention,” said NAPTOSA KZN spokesperson Thirona Moodley.

“The violence is accompanied by stabbing and mobs of learners spurring on these attacks. It has been brought to our attention that these attacks are also more exaggerated because of the social media attention it gets. If this goes on, we will not be able to control the violence in schools.”

Moodley revealed that just last week, a principal was stabbed while trying to break up a fight between learners.

“Teachers and learners’ lives are at stake,” she warned. “Schools must involve law enforcement through having random searches for weapons, and they must on a regular basis invite SAPS to give talks at assemblies. Learners must understand that they will be arrested and possibly imprisoned. The harsh realities of violence must be understood by our learners.”

She also stressed that the responsibility cannot fall solely on schools, “The teachers and SGBs cannot do this alone. Parents must also instil non-violence at home. If this is going to continue unabated, we are going to have serious injuries and possibly fatal injuries to learners and teachers.”

The chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Parents Association,Vee Gani echoed the urgency for accountability. “What we see now is not just violence, but serious violent action, stabbing a child is not just violence, it’s attempted murder,” he said.

Gani advocated for stricter disciplinary action. “Any child that is responsible for behaving violently in school must be removed because it creates a risk for all the other children.”

The Department of Basic Education’s Elijah Mhlanga echoed calls for shared responsibility, warning that schools alone cannot carry the burden of solving a broader social crisis. “It all starts in the home,” Mhlanga said.

“If children are not taught values like respect and empathy at home, they are unlikely to carry those values into the classroom.”

Mhlanga added that while schools teach positive values through the curriculum, this is undermined if the same messages are not reinforced at home. “The real challenge is parenting, not policy,” he said. “No amount of policy-making will work if there is no change in behaviour at an individual level.”

He further pointed out that the psychological needs of learners are often rooted in domestic issues such as gender-based violence and conflict,problems only families can fully address.

“We work with various partners like SAPS, the Department of Social Development, and SADAG,” Mhlanga said, “but these resources respond to problems that have already taken root in communities.”

He also stressed that the existing School Safety Framework does not need to be revised, but rather fully implemented.

“What’s needed is not new policies, but for everyone—parents, communities, schools—to play their part.”

IOL reached out to the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) for comment, but they did not respond in time for publication.

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za 

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