ActionSA has written to both the Department of Basic Education and South African Police Service (SAPS), requesting the urgent deployment of additional resources to ensure the safety of learners across schools in Eldorado Park, a community that has been plagued by recurring shootings.
Yesterday, parents were horrified to learn that armed assailants entered the grounds of Willow Crescent Secondary School in Eldorado Park and opened fire, leaving educators and learners traumatised. This latest incident has sent shockwaves through a community already ravaged by violence. On the very same day, at Lancea Vale Secondary, a nearby school, gang fights resulted in the stabbing and injury of a learner.
Marking a worrying escalation of violence, with the safety of children in schools at serious risk, parents are rightly frustrated and left without confidence that sufficient protection is in place to ensure that their children are in a protected and conducive learning environment.
ActionSA is further alarmed by the reality that gang violence has infiltrated schools, with pupils caught in the crossfire between rival gangs. Meanwhile, SAPS, the Department of Education, and the Department of Social Development are evidently on the back foot, unable to address this growing phenomenon.
In light of the escalating gun violence affecting the community of Eldorado Park, there is an urgent need for SAPS to intensify the search and seizure of illegal guns in the area, where the continued proliferation of guns presents a clear and present danger to the lives of children in the community.
ActionSA believes that at the centre of efforts to restore order in our schools must be a coordinated effort by both the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Social Development to identify at-risk pupils and ensure they receive the necessary support, especially in cases where they come from homes affected by substance use disorder.
ActionSA will continue to fight to ensure that every possible intervention is implemented to prevent any parent from having to bury their son or daughter due to this violence.
ActionSA Calls for Urgent SAPS Intervention Amid Escalating School Safety Concerns in Eldorado Park Due to Recurring Shootings
ActionSA has written to both the Department of Basic Education and South African Police Service (SAPS), requesting the urgent deployment of additional resources to ensure the safety of learners across schools in Eldorado Park, a community that has been plagued by recurring shootings.
Yesterday, parents were horrified to learn that armed assailants entered the grounds of Willow Crescent Secondary School in Eldorado Park and opened fire, leaving educators and learners traumatised. This latest incident has sent shockwaves through a community already ravaged by violence. On the very same day, at Lancea Vale Secondary, a nearby school, gang fights resulted in the stabbing and injury of a learner.
Marking a worrying escalation of violence, with the safety of children in schools at serious risk, parents are rightly frustrated and left without confidence that sufficient protection is in place to ensure that their children are in a protected and conducive learning environment.
ActionSA is further alarmed by the reality that gang violence has infiltrated schools, with pupils caught in the crossfire between rival gangs. Meanwhile, SAPS, the Department of Education, and the Department of Social Development are evidently on the back foot, unable to address this growing phenomenon.
In light of the escalating gun violence affecting the community of Eldorado Park, there is an urgent need for SAPS to intensify the search and seizure of illegal guns in the area, where the continued proliferation of guns presents a clear and present danger to the lives of children in the community.
ActionSA believes that at the centre of efforts to restore order in our schools must be a coordinated effort by both the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Social Development to identify at-risk pupils and ensure they receive the necessary support, especially in cases where they come from homes affected by substance use disorder.
ActionSA will continue to fight to ensure that every possible intervention is implemented to prevent any parent from having to bury their son or daughter due to this violence.