This is despite research showing that there are many factors that contribute to bullying and gangsterism in schools.
Last week, the Gauteng department of education revealed that since the start of the year there have already been 187 cases of bullying and 107 of violence and assault in the province’s schools. Among other things, the summit resolved on: providing security guards in schools on an incremental basis, starting with 200 schools; implementing a learner code of conduct addressing social ills; and ensuring that codes of conduct foster good behavior and deter ill-discipline in schools.Elias Malindi, the spokesperson for the provincial education department, told thethat Matsemela made the statement because of her observations of incidents of school violence that involved old learners.
While citing these two incidents, Malindi did not go on and respond to other detailed questions sent by the, these included a question on whether schools had been directed not to admit overaged learners. It is therefore unclear whether or not this was a policy change, or a remark made without a plan behind it.
The policy only speaks of a learner who is 16 or older who is seeking admission for the first time at a public schools who should be advised to enroll at an Adult Basic Education and Training centre.Equal Education’s Jacobs said it was understandable that big age gaps between learners in one classroom could give rise to possible complicated dynamics that can create challenges in teachers enforcing discipline.