KZN Education Department reacts to alarming school violence

THE KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has expressed alarm over a series of violent and criminal incidents involving learners, while parents and teacher unions have called for urgent and decisive action to restore discipline in schools.

- SIPHESIHLE BUTHELEZI

On Friday, a 17-year-old Grade 10 pupil at Trenance Park Secondary School in Verulam was stabbed in the neck during an altercation with fellow learners.

Security company, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), which responded to the emergency, said the scholar returned to the school with a large kitchen knife still protruding from the back of his neck.

The boy was stabilised by paramedics before being taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery and is now recovering.

A 14-year-old pupil was arrested for the incident.

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.”

He added that the department “will continue to monitor the learner's recovery while ensuring he receives academic support” and extended appreciation to RUSA, the medical team, and the teachers of Trenance Park Secondary for their intervention.

In a separate incident on the same day, a mass brawl broke out among learners from Esther Payne Smith Secondary School in Northdale Circuit, uMgungundlovu District.