http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=22354&S.African Institute for Race Relations says: SA Schools are the most dangerous in the world
Date Posted: Thursday 07-Feb-2008
[We've won again! Another FIRST! Yep, we have the most dangerous schools in the world.
Do I care what the Govt Education Dept say? Actually, ignore them. They talk tripe. They've buggered up our schooling system irreparably. The SAIRR has told the truth on past occasions and its backed up by their studies.
As for the Govt fool responding below: You, dear idiot, know nothing about CREDIBIlITY! The SA Institute of Race Relations has stacks more credibility than your rotten Dept ever had. In fact, your Dept of assorted clowns and morons have brought more disrepute on this country's schooling system than anything in the past. Jan]
An SA Institute for Race Relations (SAIRR) report which said South African schools were the most dangerous in the world is "media hype" and "negative propaganda", said the Department of Education on Wednesday.
"SAIRR latest media hype about safety at schools (which has nothing to do with race relations) is evidence that this once-credible institution has fallen prey to a political agenda, and in so doing has severely damaged its credibility," said department director-general Duncan Hindle.
"Nobody is asking for sanitised news, but in this case one has to ask whether the sole aim of the Institute is to make South Africans feel bad about themselves and their country."
Hindle said the data used by the institute was derived from perceptions.
"Children were asked if they felt safe at school, and many did not.
"That is worrying, but it should not then be taken that these children are in fact not safe. Feeling something does not make it so."
Hindle said in fact there were remarkably few incidents of violence at South African schools, given that 12-million children attended school every day.
He said the department had undertaken numerous steps over the past five years to make schools safer.
Last weekend Minister Naledi Pandor launched a programme to provide schools seriously at risk with fences, lighting, security guards and even metal detectors.
Hindle said all schools had been provided with safety guides which had resulted in various anti-violence initiatives.
"We also sponsored legislation last year providing for the search and seizure of dangerous weapons and drugs at schools."
The findings of a Progress in International Reading Literacy study released on Tuesday, ranked South Africa last in terms of school safety.
"In that study South African school pupils were asked whether they felt safe when they were at school and if they had experienced incidents of stealing, bullying, and injury to themselves or to others in their class within the last four weeks.
"Only 23 percent of South African pupils said they felt safe at school. On average South Africa's schools ranked more than 20 percentage points below the world-wide average of 47 percent of pupils saying they felt a high degree of safety in the classroom," said SAIRR spokesperson Thomas Blaser.
He said school violence appeared not to be isolated incidents anymore but "part of a growing pattern of violence and disorder".
According to the department of education's own data, published in the SAIRR report, 24 percent of schools had no burglar bars, 35 percent had no security gates, and 80 percent had no alarm systems."
On Wednesday, Hindle said the department asked the community to continue supporting its campaign to build "safe and caring schools".
"Those attempting to trash this country in pursuit of party political goals will not succeed," he said. - Sapa
Source URL:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=nw20080206164126351C268659Posted By: Jan
AfricanCrisis Webmaster
Author of: Government by Deception
Topic: Think American schools are bad?...think again! (Read 2417 times)