Knives, pangas found at school during random police search

Some pupils at Alabama Secondary School in Klerksdorp, North West, say they carry knives to school for protection, with their parents pleading for extra safety measures.

On Wednesday, police conducted a random search-and-seizure operation at the school and confiscated several items including knives, pangas, alcohol, firelighters, vapes, and weed.

The school was identified by the provincial department of education as one of the hotspots for crime and gangsterism.

Education MEC Viola Motsumi said the operation was a crucial step towards creating a safer and more conducive learning environment for pupils. 

When Sowetan visited the school on Thursday, a pupil there was seen brandishing a gun, which one teacher quickly assured the team was a toy.

A pupil said: “We carry these weapons to protect ourselves because you just never know what is going to happen and when. Some fights happen after school sometimes, so the best way to defend ourselves is to carry weapons.”

Another pupil said he felt unsafe and was constantly bullied. He said in the first two weeks of joining the school, he asked his parents to remove him from there.

“When I enter the toilets, there is smoke everywhere. This school is not for me and I told my parents that I want to leave this school. When you try to complain to the teachers, they say we must just look after ourselves,” he said.

“I am not feeling safe. They bring knives and try to intimidate us and as girls, when we try to enter the toilets, they threaten us with knives. If only there was security at the gate that searches us before we enter the school, then that would make a huge difference.”

Provincial education spokesperson Mphata Molokwane said the school's 2023 matric pass rate was "very poor".

It obtained 38.9%. Of the 113 pupils who wrote exams, only 44 passed, said Molokwane.

A parent of a 16-year-old grade 10 pupil said every day when the child returned home from school, he and his wife would search her bag and go through her phone.

“I told her mother that we should always do this [search her] so that we know who she is talking to and what they are doing. It is wrong what is happening here.

“I think I am going to remove my child from this school at the end of the year because what if one day she gets stabbed?

“There are fears from us as parents that a pupil will just enter school premises holding a gun and point it at a teacher. The department should be worried, and they should also ensure that kids are safe,” he said.

Another parent said he knew some children did drugs.

“But I didn't know they bring pangas and knives to school. That is scary. I will ask my son about [it]. I am disturbed by all this,” he said.