{"id":864987,"date":"2026-07-02T12:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=864987"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:11:08","slug":"disturbing-trend-about-245-schools-in-south-africas-smallest-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/864987\/disturbing-trend-about-245-schools-in-south-africas-smallest-province\/","title":{"rendered":"Disturbing trend about 245 schools in South Africa’s smallest province"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a recent report by the Department of Education, 245 schools in Gauteng were flagged as high risk for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This comes as Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture, and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, provided an overview of school safety, crime, and violence, and assessed current interventions aimed at protecting learners and educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A provincial study involving over 1,300 schools identified 245 high-risk schools in Gauteng that require targeted intervention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings reveal strong links between challenges in school safety and broader community issues, such as gang activity, drug use, and violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“School safety has emerged as a critical and urgent concern that directly affects teaching and learning outcomes,” said Maile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maile said that while the education system continues to grapple with challenges such as overcrowding, infrastructure backlogs, and service delivery pressures, school safety has emerged as a critical priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted key concerns, including bullying, substance abuse, violence, vandalism, and criminal activity both in and around schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maile said the Department actively involves parents, educators, and communities throughout Gauteng. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These engagements reportedly highlight issues related to unsafe travel routes for learners, damaged infrastructure, and general insecurity in school environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said partnership programs, including SADAG, Childline Gauteng, and the Teddy Bear Foundation, provide psychosocial support to many learners and educators, with the aim of addressing trauma, mental health, and child protection needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Partnerships with organisations like the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) reached over 11,000 learners and 150 educators by April 2026, with mental health and suicide prevention,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reported that the Teddy Bear Foundation provided direct psychosocial support to over 100 schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Childline Gauteng and the Isibindi Ezikoleni Programme, which operates in 30 schools, reached over 35,000 learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These organisations help vulnerable learners cope with trauma, abuse, and behavioural challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This evidence confirms that school safety extends beyond physical security to include emotional well-being and psychosocial support,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other measures taken <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture, and Recreation, Lebogang Maile.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“The Department has strengthened interventions through security deployment in 422 schools, CCTV installations in 606 schools and additional protection in 121 high-risk schools,” said Maile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department said that these efforts are supported by SAPS partnerships and technology-driven initiatives such as the Vodacom School Safety Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MEC said that the Department is adopting a long-term, evidence-based approach focused on prevention, early intervention, and stronger coordination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe review of the School Safety Strategy, initiated in 2024, is currently underway,\u201d said Maile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The School Safety Strategy is a project aimed at strengthening existing interventions and responding to emerging risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revised strategy is said to place more emphasis on prevention, early intervention, stakeholder coordination and technology-enabled safety solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safe schools are foundational to quality education, and protecting learners and educators should be a shared responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 245 identified high-risk schools in Gauteng were flagged following a detailed environmental analysis conducted by the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study found that the safety challenges faced by these high-risk schools are often closely tied to broader community conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key safety concerns include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Gang-related violence and bullying<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Substance abuse, as well as the availability of drugs and alcohol around school premises<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sexual harassment<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Vandalism and theft<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Criminal activity within the surrounding communities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    To address these heightened safety risks, the Gauteng Department of Education has introduced several targeted interventions for these specific schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Initially, private security services were deployed to 75 high-risk schools, and this coverage was later expanded to 121 schools that required additional support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Department said it has partnered with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to implement awareness campaigns, safety education programmes, and specialised support services to strengthen prevention and response mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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    245 schools in Gauteng have been flagged as high-risk profiles for violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":865045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[23835,25688],"class_list":["post-864987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-gauteng-department-of-educaiton","tag-lebogang-maile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864987"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":865052,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864987\/revisions\/865052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}