Sowetan Newest.jpg Terrified teachers stay away Sandile Motha, Sowetan, Johannesburg, 3 October 2015 Terrified teachers have refused to return to classes after a pupil shot dead another at a KwaZulu-Natal school. Now matric pupils at Qantayi High School near Richards Bay face a bleak future ahead of their final exams starting next month. Meetings between education officials, teacher unions, the school governing body and the local community have failed to convince the terrified teachers to return to classes . Only four from a total of 14 teachers have returned to the school after the shooting incident in which a pupil shot a schoolmate in full view of others in August. The incident was triggered by a fight over a girlfriend. The perpetrator allegedly took his grandfather's gun and forced his way into a classroom where he fatally shot the other pupil and fled. He later shot and killed himself. After the incident, the school was shut down with teachers vowing not to return. Now the teachers have asked to be transferred to other schools, saying their lives are in danger. "The violence in the school is not new. Last year, a teacher was attacked by a parent who accused the teacher of disciplining his child. "Sadly innocent kids who want to learn find themselves caught in the crossfire," said SA Democratic Teachers Union provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza. National Association of Teachers Union spokesman Allan Thompson said the problem at the school was worrying. "This is shocking considering that in few weeks, matric pupils have to sit for exams. Education officials, particularly in the district, have let down the learners," he said. Last year, the KwaZulu-Natal matric pass rate plummeted 7.7% from 77.4% in 2013 to 69.7% in 2014. Provincial education spokesman Sihle Mlotshwa said negotiations were in progress with the disgruntled teachers. Pupils swap pens and books for knives Teachers and pupils fear for their lives as schools are turning increasingly violent. The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) says there has been an increase in the number of school violence incidents reported. The union told Sowetan yesterday that the lives of teachers and pupils were in danger. A West Rand pupil yesterday told of how terrified he was of going back to school after he was stabbed with a knife by a schoolmate. On September 10, the 18-year-old Grade 10 pupil at Madiba Comprehensive School was attacked as he was leaving school. "Earlier, the boy who attacked me pushed me in the corridor and I pushed him back. He pulled out a sharp object but other pupils stopped him," the pupil recalled. "He later attacked me from behind. His intention was to kill me. He was aiming for the neck but I turned and he stabbed me in the hand." The boy spent several days in hospital and was also in the intensive care unit. A vein on his left arm was damaged and the hospital had to replace it with one from his hip. The boy's brother said the school failed to report the incident to them. "My cousin, who also goes to the school, informed us. In March, she [cousin] was attacked with a brick on the head." Sadtu's Nomusa Cembi said it was difficult for teachers to deal with violence at school because their lives were also threatened. <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] From: <http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2015/10/03/terrified-teachers-stay-away> http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2015/10/03/terrified-teachers-stay-away -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
