Ellapen Rapiti, Kenwyn
It was shocking to hear about the murder of a teacher by a pupil on drugs in the North West Province.
The youth was ap-
parently upset because the teacher stopped him from jumping the food queue at school to discipline him.
The pupil returned the next day to school with a knife and stabbed the teacher to death in front of the rest of the children.
The trauma to the other children and the teacher’s family is unimaginable.
Children on drugs with violent tendencies or a history of violent behaviour have no place in mainstream schools because they disrupt learning and instill fear in all those around them.
They should be placed in institutions where they can be watched and contained till they demonstrate signs of wanting to change and becoming respectable.
The education department needs to revisit this problem and come up with proper policies rather than to just shrug their shoulders in despair and pass the buck onto families.
These children respect no one. Their families live in constant fear of them, especially when they become manically violent under the influence of drugs like amphetamine (tik), cannabis and alcohol.
Expecting desperate families to restrain these delinquent children is utterly crass and displays total ignorance about how difficult it is to deal with violent children on drugs.
The death of this young teacher is a tragedy. It is tragedy because this loss of life could have been avoided if we had a proper policy in place.
Society and fami-
lies need to be protec-
ted from the toxic and sometimes lethal influence of such chil-
dren. These children should be kept in places/homes where the underlying causes can be addressed by professionals trained in the field.
Throwing these children into prison or onto the streets, is certainly not a solution.
Our teachers and pupils need to feel safe in their schools if proper learning is to take place.
Dr Rapiti has a general practice in Mitchell’s Plain and initiated the 4 Steps support group for substance users and their families.
Email robertrapiti@gmail.com