KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, has expressed shock and outrage at the killing of a Grade 12 learner, who was allegedly stabbed to death by a Grade 10 learner at Mandlenkosi Secondary School in Ntuzuma, north of Durban.
Dube-Ncube visited the school on Thursday, as part of the her matric exams monitoring programme.
The Premier said it is concerning that schools, which are centres of knowledge and learning, have now been degenerated into “dens of crime”.
“We came to the school to give support and prayer to the teachers and learners who are writing their examinations, following a very unfortunate and sad incident where a learner lost his life at school. We are really saddened by the incident that happened at a time when learners are supposed to be focusing on their exams, especially the matric class of 2022.
“The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government sends its condolences to the parents of the deceased learner, teachers and fellow learners, who witnessed this tragic incident on the school premises,” Dube-Ncube said.
The Premier assured all stakeholders that government will continue to offer much-needed support to the school and beef up security.
Psychosocial support is being offered to learners and teachers at the school.
“We will be approaching the Department of Health for additional support, so that more affected learners and teachers can receive counselling. We will also be reaching out to the rest of the community so that we preach to our children to value life.
“Violence is not the solution because any disagreements can be resolved through dialogue. We are approaching the police to ensure that there is visibility during exams and additional police will be deployed to KwaZulu-Natal during the festive season and beyond,” Dube-Ncube said.