The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) calls upon Education MEC, Mbali Frazer, to launch urgent investigations into the tragic deaths of two young learners in the province.
The DA is deeply saddened by this premature loss of life and expresses its sincere condolences to the families concerned.
One of the learners was stabbed on a Phoenix school premises by another learner. The DA has received information that the learner had to be transported to a healthcare facility by an educator after emergency services were unavailable. This learner bled to death.
In a separate incident a young learner from KwaMakhutha, south of Durban, is said to have taken their own life following ongoing bullying, allegedly by a teacher.
Too often, school bullies include teachers who still mete out corporal punishment. Then there are the gangs in communities whose fights spill into our schools and sometimes cost lives.
Government must take a whole-of-society approach to ensure justice – not only in the case of these two young people, but also to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
This requires the involvement of communities, parents, SAPS, community policing forums, the justice system, religious leaders and organisations and most importantly – intense involvement of learners during each engagement.
The current state of government needs to change – and needs to change urgently.