More than a third of murders committed in institutions of learning in South Africa during the first quarter of this year were perpetrated by pupils, according to latest police quarterly statistics released this week.
The statistics show that out of the eight murders in schools and universities, three involved a pupil killing another.
The stats released by Minister of Police Bheki Cele show that seven murders were committed in school premises and one at a university. Of the seven murders committed in schools three or 33.7% involved pupils as victims and perpetrators.
Other crimes committed in educational premises include 14 cases of attempted murder and 238 of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH).
Spokesperson for the minister of police Lirandzu Themba explained that not all the crimes recorded in educational institutions involved pupils and teachers. The cases of murder, attempted murder and assault GBH, which took place on educational premises, do not necessarily mean that the victims or perpetrators were all pupils or students, said Themba.
Though the murder rate in educational institutions has decreased from 12 in the third quarter (October to December last year), the number has increased from seven in the same period last year.
Other murders recorded in schools in the period from January to March this year, also include those of two security guards but the perpetrators are classified as unknown. The other two victims are classified as unknown, and so are the perpetrators.
Nonsikelelo Ncube of the Centre for the Study of Violence said the centre had done extensive work in schools to deal with sex and gender-based violence, especially in the hotspots identified by Cele. Ncube, the leader of the project called Addressing the Shadow Pandemic of Sex and Gender-Based Violence in Communities in South Africa, said violence did not exist on its own.
“It exists in the broader spectrum of violence in our society and that speaks to just how violent we are as a society. South Africa is a deeplywounded nation, stemming mainly from the legacies of the apartheid regime.”
The crime stats also show 84 rapes were committed in educational institutions.
Of these 67 were committed in schools, with 43 of these cases involving pupils against fellow pupils
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