BLOEMFONTEIN – Dr Julia Maboya, Free State MEC for Education, stressed that safety was non-negotiable at schools across the province and will not be compromised during an unannounced search and seizure operation at the Navalsig High School in Bloemfontein this morning – Wednesday 9 September.

She said her department, in partnership with stakeholders including the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa, will continue with unannounced operations to ensure schools remain safe and crime-free places of learning. Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae also accompanied Maboya during the operation at the school.

Two incidents involving boy learners were promptly dealt with: a contraband item was discovered in a classroom, and a significant amount of money was found in a learner’s possession.

Maboya emphasised that ongoing safety operations were necessary and fundamental for safeguarding everyone on school premises.

“Today’s unannounced operation is necessary. It encompasses the National School Safety Framework (NSSF), developed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to help schools identify, manage, and respond to violence and crime. Within this framework, search and seizure is a core school-safety tool. We also have a strategy to dealt, prevention and intervention that respond to situations at schools,” she said.

Maboya stressed that schools must remain places of learning, safety and development for everyone on the premises – for teachers, support staff, and the learners themselves.

“We cannot allow weapons, drugs, alcohol, gangsterism, and violence to undermine the right of learners and educators to a safe school environment. At the same time, our response must be firm, fair, and supportive. We intervene to ensure our learners are clean, an create an enabling environment for learning and teaching,” she said.

Maboya said the operations underscores the department’s commitment to prioritise education and safety, further calling on parents to also take full responsibility in the education of their children by actively participating in educational programmes that instill good behavior.

“We will continue to work with schools, parents, communities and the SAPS to identify risks early, intervene decisively and protect our learners,” said Maboya. She said the focus includes, among other measures, early identification and referral of recurring offenders, and prevention and awareness programmes aimed at learners, educators and school communities.

Maboya said strategic operations were further necessitated by data incidents, referring to 1 686 occurrences recorded between January and July on the Education Management Information System – School Portal. The Mangaung Metropolitan Education District recorded 410 (24,3%) of the total occurrences across the three selected substance-related misconduct categories.

The breakdown of occurrences:

• Tobacco: 230 occurrences.
• Alcohol or narcotic substance: 144 occurrences.
• Narcotic possession or peddling: 36 occurrences

“These searches help us to remove dangerous weapons that can lead to murders, assaults, stabbings, and remove drugs and alcohol that can fuel violence, bullying and learner vulnerability. These lead to learners dropping out of school,” said Maboya.