By BAKANG MOKOTO
27 August 2025- The North West President for the Representative Council of Learners (RCL), Bonginkosi Motaung, who is a Grade 12 learner at Holy Family Secondary School in Mogwase village, near Rustenburg, has strongly condemned the appalling behaviour of learners against their teacher at Hoer Tegniese Skool in Klerksdorp.
Motaung said on 19 August 2025, a group of learners who were dressed in overalls and balaclavas, entered the school toilets and disrupted learning and teaching at the school.
He further said a teacher responded by going to the restroom area to reprimand the learners to return to class. Motaung added that learners ended up pouring water on the teacher and throwing papers at him.
“We strongly condemn the incident. So, on behalf of all learners from the North West, we condemn the appalling behaviour by our fellow learners. We wish to distance ourselves from such learners. This behaviour is extremely unacceptable, and we discourage it from all our schools.
“I wish to convey our sincerest apologies to the affected teacher. As learners of the North West province, we stand with this teacher, and we want him not to be ashamed of himself. We are confident that the Department will take the necessary steps against these learners,” he said.
Motaung emphasized that their position is in line with the one of the North West MEC of Education, Viola Motsumi in calling for the psychosocial support for the affected teacher and the learners.
Meanwhile, The Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) Provincial Interim Committee, Pastor Lesiba Kgwele described the learners’ conduct as despicable, bordering on criminality and barbarism. Kgwele said the level of disrespect, abuse and violence that educators are subjected to on a daily basis has reached unacceptable, alarming proportions causing unimaginable trauma.
“This warrants adoption of zero tolerance and stringent counter measures because not only does such conduct undermine discipline, but a conducive atmosphere for effective learning and teaching particularly at most high schools.
“We commend the swift actions of school authorities assisted by learners to identify the culprits who were involved as well as instituting disciplinary action,” he said.
Kgwele urged education authorities and school communities not to allow schools to be breeding grounds of gangsters and criminality, pointing out that schools are microcosms of communities experiencing moral decay, collapse of family structures and senseless violence. He said this calls for united action as well as intensified effort to reclaim sound family and community values because the adopt-a-cop programme that is supposed to be part of the School Safety & the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QTLC) is in most cases either dysfunctional or overwhelmed by gangsterism, bullying, drug and substance abuse among learners as well as violent crimes that are encroaching into the school environment.
The Guardian 