- Parents of learners at JG Meiring High School are looking for answers following a series of fights at the school.
- Earlier this month, a learner was rushed to the hospital after being attacked.
- Local police are investigating the case, and two learners have subsequently been arrested and appeared in court.
Parents of children at JG Meiring High School want to know what is being done about the fights at this school.
This came after a learner was so severely attacked that he had to be rushed to the hospital earlier this month.
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Capt Wayne Theunis, Goodwood police spokesperson, said their office is aware of the incident that is currently under investigation.
Two 17-year-old learners were arrested and appeared in the Goodwood Magistrates’ Court.
According to Theunis, Goodwood police intervene as soon as these incidents are reported to them.
John Ross, chair of Goodwood’s Community Policing Forum (CPF), said the police are in discussions with the relative schools. Neighbourhood watches and the CPF are also monitoring the affected schools when trouble is suspected.
“The problem is exasperated due to the age of some of the offenders. It is a complex issue, officers have also been assaulted,” says Ross.
Ross stated that neighbourhood watch patrollers are there for visibility only, and are not encouraged to physically intervene.
The provincial department of education spokesperson Unathi Booi states that the school handles all fighting incidents with urgency and follows the necessary steps, depending on the nature of the incident.
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“With regards to the incident mentioned above, where a learner was attacked by two other learners at the school, the school performed first aid on the victim immediately,” says Booi.
According to Booi “the parents of all learners involved were alerted immediately and the two learners were suspended as a precautionary measure until the learners appeared in a disciplinary meeting”.
“The school also contacted the WCED Safe Schools, the police and emergency personnel and our Armed Patrol services for support.
“The victim has been receiving support from the school counsellor and is writing exams in a separate venue to ensure that he can complete the November exams,” says Booi.
