MATANGARI - The incident in which a crazed Soweto high school teacher ran amok and shot three of his colleagues dead and injured four learners in July 1999, prompted Mphalaleni Secondary School, at Matangari Village, outside Thohoyandou, to come up with a safety plan to curb violence at the school.

From the main gate of the school, one is greeted by information signs, which prohibit the carrying of guns, alcohol, cigarettes and lethal weapons.

The principal of the school, Mr Thililelwi Nedambale (50), said the school wants to encourage the spirit of a conducive learning environment by engendering a culture of non-violence amongst the 865 learners and 25 educators.

He told Mirror: “We decided to spread the information signs around the school yard to convey a clear message that we condemn violent behaviour and the use of alcohol and nicotine in our school. The signs also guide visitors on how they are expected to behave inside the schoolyard before even a word is said to them. We started the project in February 2003 and we can see its fruits because we no longer encounter violent behaviour inside the schoolyard. As responsible members of the community, we have a duty to make the school environment acceptable in order to produce disciplined and non-violent future leaders. We used money from the school coffers for printing and erection of the signs because we knew the plan would work. Sign language is more effective than verbal communication and we are proud because the project is paying off.”

Nedambale further said his school has a policy of locking the gates during school hours to ensure maximum security, proper learning and to prohibit unnecessary movement of learners.

The senior communication manager of the Education Department in Limpopo, Mr Freddy Greaver, commended the school for prioritizing the safety of learners and educators for the sake of effective teaching and learning.

Greaver continued: “It is our collective responsibility to make sure that schools are safe and the learning environment is conducive. As a department, we are very happy and proud of Mphalaleni School for taking such a major step, and we appreciate their effort of making their school a crime-free zone. We hope that other schools will learn from them because the dream of the Department of Education is to make all schools safe and to make sure that all academic programmes are going on smoothly.”

The chairperson of the school’s governing body, Mr Alfred Nemudzivhadi, said the days of worrying about the security problem at the school are over.

He continued: “We used to have security problems before the erection of the signs, but now life has improved because everybody knows that we hate crime in this school. Learners and educators have joined us in our dream of a crime-free educational environment and they are proud of being part of the peace-loving Mphalaleni family.”

Arnold Nyamande (18), a Grade 10 learner at the school, said he is impressed by the way his school contributed to the promotion of sound learning atmosphere. “I commend the school management for coming up with the idea of promoting a crime-free environment in our school. We feel very safe here and this school is now a home far away from home. The safety plan also encourages us to abstain from any form of criminal activities both inside and outside the schoolyard. We study freely without any fear because we are not threatened by any criminal activities, as the signs say it all!” he said.