Port Elizabeth teachers protest over school safety

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Teachers at Gelvandale High school in Port Elizabeth held a protest on Tuesday morning demanding strict safety measures to be implemented at schools.

This follows an incident on Monday when suspected gang members entered the school premises during morning assembly and threatened a teacher with a fire-arm before trying to assault him with a plank.

Following a staff meeting it was decided to close the school for two days in protest at the poor security at schools in PE's gang-ridden Northern Areas.

ANC member in the Bisho Legislature, Christian Martin, was also at the protest and says 11 schools will form part of a pilot project for safer schooling.

Martin says they had a few meetings with The Department of Education and the incident happened on the same day security officials made an assessment at the schools.

"There are some security measures that we want to put into place at the school looking at the nature of the situation and the area they live in. I have spoken to the MEC (of Education) yesterday [Monday], last week we had a meeting with the CFO, things are happening. I can say we have been proactive, this is something that happened at the wrong time." says Martin.

Gelvandale High School Principal Deon O' Brien says that this was not the first time that gangsters terrorised learners and teachers at Gelvandale High.

"What they usually do is they come in on a Monday morning when teachers are in a meeting, they then attempt to rob the kids from their cellphones and money. Whenever educators come out they jump back over the fence. We have been to the police, but they always tell us they don't have the manpower" says O'Brien.

O'Brien says a delegation of school principals will have a follow up meeting with District Education management on Tuesday where it was agreed that the Department would pay for security personnel at schools.