The IFP strongly condemns the heinous killing of teachers in KwaZulu-Natal, after a 46-year-old principal was killed at a school in Msinga on Friday.
The IFP does not believe this teacher did anything that warranted such a brutal death. If anyone was unsatisfied with the principal’s conduct, this was not the way to resolve their differences.
The IFP is concerned about the ongoing killing of teachers in the Province; this could result in them vacating insecure areas if the government doesn’t guarantee their safety. No one will continue working in a dangerous place. Teachers are human beings with families; they are not sacrificial lambs. The IFP urges the government – in particular the Department of Education – to ensure that teachers are protected in schools. A possible solution to improve security in schools is to employ more security personnel.
The IFP believes that the government must shoulder the blame for failing to eradicate crime. Teachers – and other ordinary South Africans – are killed on a daily basis because criminals are no longer afraid of being arrested, and they are not afraid of jail. The lack of political will to eradicate crime and the illegal guns that are used by criminals has a devastating effect on society. Government must go back to the drawing board and come up with new strategies that will deter criminals.
Further, the IFP urges the KZN MEC of Education, Kwazi Mshengu, to convene an urgent meeting to discuss teachers’ security, following the killing. Fear among teachers could seriously affect service delivery, and could result in poor academic performance in some schools.
The KZN Department of Education must assure KZN residents that schools are safe for learning. We have in the past been assured of protection and action, yet the killings have continued unabated.
The IFP believes that there should be harsher sentences for people who attack and kill teachers, and calls on courts to show no mercy to anyone found guilty of these crimes. Such people must not be granted bail and have no chance of getting parole.
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Contact:
Mrs Thembeni Madlopha Mthethwa, MPL
IFP KZN Provincial Spokesperson for Education
071 884 3844 / 079 114 3015