Teachers becoming targets in South Africa
Growing criminality in South Africa has now put teachers in the crosshairs, who are increasingly at risk of violence at certain schools across South Africa.
This is according to Basil Manuel, Director of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA), who expressed deep concern over the increasing violence targeting teachers in South Africa.
His concerns come after a 54-year-old teacher in Stellenbosch was shot and killed outside Khayamandi Primary School, and a double murder at Ingleweni Primary in Tembisa last week.
Speaking about the growing threat, Manuel stressed that “our teachers are under siege, and the level of violence is what is most worrying.”
“There have always been issues in and around schools, particularly in schools that are difficult to teach at because of community violence, but the murders of late leave one a little taken aback,’ he said.
“The real reasons haven’t yet come to the fore, and they could be one of many, but the level of violence needs serious attention.”
When asked what measures could be put in place to protect teachers, Manuel acknowledged the challenges.
He explained that one of the difficulties is that you can’t have police at every school or even security guards at every school. “It is simply impossible, given the sheer number of schools that we have,” he said.
However, he added that it needs to be brought to the attention of the authorities—the minister and the DG—that the difficult-to-teach schools are just a handful, and we need to target protection for those schools.
“The other measure is that we need to see arrests made by the police. We need to see that things are being done, and that helps give a sense that people will not get away with it.”
“But of course, arrests are slow, and people seem to be getting away with some major crimes, which is disconcerting,” he said.
Reasons for the increased violence
This could have dire consequences for schools. Manue said teachers are getting twitchy, and there are fears that teachers will not want to go to schools that are deemed difficult to be in.
“We can’t have that happen because children have a right to be taught, and they have a right to good educators at the same time.”
While the motivations behind the recent murders are still unknown. Manuel said they could be for a variety of reasons.
However, he flagged that people could be getting rid of opposition because posts are at a premium, and people want access to the posts.
“It’s been reported that heads of schools have sold posts at schools, and we’ve seen many things like that happen,” he said.
Despite this trend, he added that just general criminality has been a primary factor. He highlighted cases in Gauteng where financial disputes at schools may have led to violent incidents.
“These are some of the reports coming out where money had changed hands, and people were trying to cover up losses at the school.
“Now there are a variety of reasons, but the frequency with which it is happening is jarring.” He emphasised that even a single murder is too many.
“One murder in a school is more than we can handle. It creates an unsafe environment for everybody connected to the school,” Manuel said.
“We’ve been preaching that our schools need to be safe spaces, not only for teachers but particularly for pupils.”
According to Manuel, the escalating violence against teachers signals an urgent need for targeted interventions and stronger enforcement to protect both educators and learners.
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