Concerned about their children’s safety at Humansdorp Secondary School, parents have embarked on a campaign to improve the safety at the school by patrolling the premises throughout the day.
Vice chairperson of the school governing body (SGB), Jaques Alexander, said for many years, gang-related incidents and violence have been common occurrences in the community after hours and over weekends, which spilled over to the school.
He said many attempts were previously launched to resolve the issue of safety at the school, which has approximately 2 000 learners and 60 teachers, but were unsuccessful.
After witnessing a fight between two female learners at the school on April 25, Alexander launched the #Takebackourschool campaign.
“Our learners and teachers have the right to give and receive proper education in a safe environment. Our teachers are educators and not peace officers. Our learners are entitled to education in a safe environment,” said Alexander.
He said since launching the campaign the safety issue at the school has improved and with the parents present on the premises there was peace and calmness.
“While the parents volunteer at the school, some of their duties include ensuring that learners remain in class during teaching time and watching over the learners who are without teachers,” said Alexander.
“The parents also monitor the learners while they move to their next class to ensure that it is done in an orderly manner.”
Alexander said they needed about 30 parents patrolling the school premises throughout the day to ensure that the entire school was covered.
However, since this was done on a voluntary basis, depending on when the parents were available, they did not always have enough people patrolling the school.
He said it was important for parents and community members to get involved with matters at the school, since the school belonged to the community. Alexander said the school currently had a high drop-out rate and their learners were easily influenced by bad elements in the community and peer pressure.
“If we can make our schools safe, our learners will receive a better education as well as better pass results at the end of the day,” said Alexander.
He said, based on feedback received from the learners, teachers and parents, the presence of the volunteers was yielding positive results.
Alexander said the goal for the #Takebackourschool campaign was to restore the school’s name and work towards being recognised as one of the best schools in the Eastern Cape.
He said he also hoped the campaign would provide the learners with the opportunity to reach their full potential by excelling academically which will help them build a better future for themselves.
To fulfil their patrolling duties at the school, Alexander said they were in need of donations of two-way radios, reflector jackets and water for those on duty.
“We are appealing to parents and alumni of the school to join the campaign which is not a political campaign, but instead a campaign to put the school, learners, and teachers first,” said Alexander.
