4 days ago
Gauteng pulls security guards from high-risk schools
The Gauteng education department has withdrawn security guards from high-risk schools across the province with immediate effect.
A notice sent by the department to school principals and security service providers did not explain the reasons for the withdrawal, but stated that no guarding services would be allowed to operate without official purchase order numbers.
The notice, dated August 6, and seen by the Sowetan, was issued by Zondi Nkuna, acting director of security services management.
This development comes just a week after the principal of Thuto-Lesedi Secondary School in Vosloorus had to be temporarily removed by the department after a brutal bullying incident that left a grade 8 pupil hospitalised with serious facial injuries on July 23.
The incident triggered protests by other schools in the area, demanding accountability from the school management and accusing them of being powerless against bullying.
Earlier this month, a pupil from a school in Mamelodi, Tshwane, was fatally stabbed by another pupil at the school after a heated altercation.
The Gauteng education department had previously identified at least 75 schools as 'extreme high-risk' zones, spanning Johannesburg Central, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni.
In response to rising incidents of school violence, the department launched a series of school safety imbizos to gather input from communities and stakeholders.
These engagements produced recommendations such as the installation of CCTV cameras, structured after-school activities, and the deployment of trained patrollers instead of outsourced private security.
Questions were sent to the education department on Thursday afternoon, but the spokesperson had not responded by the time this article was published.
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