Gauteng Schools' Safety Progress & Challenges

Gauteng Lawmaker Raises School Safety Concerns: Progress Made, but Challenges Persist

A Gauteng lawmaker has expressed worries about school safety and associated costs. Despite a decrease in schools failing safety checks from forty-six to thirty-four in two years, the provincial education department reports that thirty-four schools still didnt meet the national safety frameworks requirements.

The safety checks cover aspects like perimeter fencing, visitor identification, and clear signage against drugs and weapons. Each school has a safety committee, and the department is now reprioritizing them after recent elections for governing bodies.

The opposition member questioned the adequacy of security staffing, particularly at high-risk schools, which receive more part-time patrollers from a government jobs program than full-time guards funded by the province. Guards cost at least sixty-eight thousand rand per month, deployed based on school size and needs.

On first aid, the department has trained three hundred fifteen staff members over the past three years, with one hundred sixteen schools now having at least one qualified person on site. They aim for three or four per school to handle emergencies until professional help arrives.

The department continues to work on improving compliance across the board, balancing affordable programs with targeted security measures to ensure schools remain safer for all.

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