Pubdate: Tue, 11 Sep 2007
Source: Star, The (South Africa)
Copyright: Independent Newspapers 2007
Contact:  http://www.thestar.co.za/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/423
Author: Anna Louw

'NO BULLYING OF TEACHERS WILL BE TOLERATED'

After discovering that their children's school was  ridden with 
gangsterism, violence, drugs and  prostitution, shell-shocked parents 
regained their  composure and are fighting back to reclaim their  authority.

Parents of pupils attending Liverpool Secondary School  in 
Actonville, Benoni, have mobilised and are getting  to grips with the 
issues by assisting the principal and  teachers to restore discipline 
and order.

Getting involved and having criminal elements and drug  pushers 
arrested and brought to justice is one way of  rooting out 
undesirable behaviour, but cutting the  purse strings and the 
pocket-money if children don't  respect their parents is also effective.

There is a new wave of parent/teacher discipline at  Liverpool 
Secondary School, with parents saying  "Enough!"

They have enlisted the help of the Benoni Community  Safety Forum and 
the Ekurhuleni metro police department  to shake things up, and zero 
tolerance to bad behaviour  and drugs is now the order of the day.

And the message to pupils is: No bullying and  victimisation of 
pupils or teachers will be tolerated.

So swift was the parental action that a senior learner  with spiky 
hair, which is against school regulations,  was collared on Friday 
and driven to the nearest barber  for a haircut to suit the rules.

The same morning, another schoolboy was arrested after  a parent 
confronted him about a parcel that contained  rolls of dagga.

It all came to a head about two weeks ago, when a man  armed with a 
hunting rifle was flushed out by police  dogs when metro police 
raided the school.

He was arrested as he was about to enter the school  gate and was 
allegedly on his way to participate in a  revenge attack for the 
stabbing of two brothers by the  father of another pupil, after the 
three were involved  in a fight a few days earlier.

Twelve schoolboys were also arrested for abuse and/or  possession of 
drugs. Their urine tested positive for  traces of narcotics.

They've subsequently appeared in the Benoni  magistrate's court and 
were released into their  parents' custody until their trial date.

Reza Patel, the dynamic chairperson of the Benoni  Community Safety 
Forum, and Director Trish Armstrong of  the Ekurhuleni metro police 
department were alerted to  the problems at the school by the 
principal when  rumours of a revenge attack surfaced. Armstrong, an 
advocate by profession, planned the swoop on the  premises.

Patel on Monday said that after consulting the  governing body, he 
called two meetings of the parents  of the more than 1 100 pupils at 
the school last week  to discuss the crisis and ask them what they 
were going  to do about it.

While some parents were initially in denial after the  raid, it 
didn't take long to convince them of the  seriousness of the situation.

"I asked them to show by way of hands those in favour  of taking 
action to address the problems at the school,  which is not being 
singled out - it is merely a  microcosm of the macrocosm. Not a 
single parent  objected to restoring order.

"It was decided that parents would assist teachers by  arriving at 
school before the bell rings at 7:45am. A  team of parents on Friday 
rounded up over 400 pupils  who were loitering outside the premises 
after  assembly," Patel added.

After the second meeting for the parents of the senior  grades, a 
Grade 10 girl stood up and informed them of  how critical the 
situation really was. Patel said it  was an eye-opener to him and the 
parents. She said the  pupils themselves had to be involved in the 
cleaning up  of their school for the initiative to be successful.

Patel asked a group of pupils to answer in writing if  they were 
fearful, felt unsafe, threatened or in  danger. More than 80 percent 
of the pupils answered yes  to his questions. "It was the signal that 
action was  needed immediately," he said.

Armstrong said one of her senior officers, who is a  martial arts 
expert, will start self-defence training  for the pupils at the 
school, starting today.

"We will teach them hand-to-hand combat and how to  protect 
themselves in an assault with weapons," she  said.

The parents have also giving the metro police their  blessing to raid 
the school frequently in order to  restore order.

Patel said one of the big problems in the former  disadvantaged 
communities was the lack of sports  facilities and recreation for the youth.

"There is nothing for them to do, which creates an  environment 
conducive to drugs and other socio-economic  ills."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart