Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube visited the Mandlenkosi Secondary School in Ntuzuma, north of Durban, on Thursday, the school at which a Grade 12 learner was stabbed and killed by a Grade 10 learner.
Dube-Ncube’s reaction was that of shock and outrage when she heard that the two boys had allegedly fought over a girl. It is alleged that one of them decided to use a knife during their fist fight, resulting in the stabbing incident.
Thabani Vilakazi, 21, was rushed to a nearby clinic where he died.
Ntuzuma police are investigating the incident and have not yet said if anyone has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Dube-Ncube comforted distressed learners and teachers, who were still trying to come to terms with the incident on the school premises.
She said it was concerning that schools, which are meant to uplift learners and allow them the opportunity to gain knowledge, have become a place of violence and crime. She said this was a reflection of the violence that these learners see every day in the societies in which they live.
Dube-Ncube’s visit to the school was also part of the premier’s matric exams monitoring programme.
“We came to the school to give support and prayer to the teachers and the learners who are writing their exams following a very unfortunate and sad incident where a learner lost his life at school. We are really saddened by this incident that happened at a time when learners are supposed to be focusing on their exams, especially the matric class of 2022,” said Dube-Ncube.
She said that all stakeholders would try to offer much-needed support to the school and improve the security.
Dube-Ncube said psycho-social support was being offered to the learners and teachers at the school, and the Department of Health would be approached for additional support so that more learners and teachers could receive counselling.
“We will also be reaching out to the rest of the community so that we preach to our children to value life. Violence is not the solution because any disagreements can be resolved through dialogue.
“We are approaching the police to ensure that there is visibility during exams. Additional police will be deployed to KwaZulu-Natal during the festive season and beyond,” she said.
Daily News