Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi / GCIS
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi / GCIS
Another pupil has been stabbed to death in what is already becoming a horror year for SA schools, with a 14-year-old boy killed on Thursday.
A Grade 10 pupil is on the run after he allegedly stabbed his Freedom Park Secondary School classmate to death in North Gauteng.
The pupils were returning home from school when the incident occurred.
A very busy MEC
Gauteng Education MEC Panyazi Lesufi confirmed that a boy had been killed on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths in Gauteng schools to 16 in 2020.
“It is alleged that the boy was stabbed by another learner on Thursday after school near their homes,” he said. “The suspect is on the run, police are investigating circumstances around the matter.
“We take this time to send heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and the school community during this time of grief.
“We strongly condemn any acts of learner misconduct and relentlessly appeal to parents in assisting and enforcing discipline in and outside the school environment.”
‘Space cakes’ leave pupils hospitalised
Lesufi has been inundated by incidents of violence in the province since the start of the year, and also confirmed that 39 pupils from Lofentse Girls Secondary School, in Soweto, had to receive treatment at the Bheki Mlangeni and Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals after eating “space cakes”.
“The learners were taken to hospitals after they complained about stomach pains while others were vomiting. They were then transported to hospitals where they were seen and later discharged,” Lesufi said.
Children involved in Fochville accident
In another incident this week, nine children between the ages of nine and 15, were hospitalised after being involved in an accident while being driven to school on Friday morning.
They were injured when a vehicle they were travelling, in overturned in Fochville in the west of Johannesburg on Friday after the driver lost control.
“The patients were treated for their injuries and were later transported to nearby hospitals for further care,” said ER24 spokesperson Russell Meiring.
