The Educators Union of South Africa said they are forced to be armed on school premises as the government is failing to protect them.

This statement comes after the killing of a teacher at the Masuku Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday.

Siphiwe Mpungose, who is the General-Secretary, said teachers don’t want to advocate for violence, but they have been left with no other choice.

“We are saying enough is enough; if they have to protect themselves, let it be. The teacher who was gunned down yesterday was shot at and tried to run. If he had a gun, he was going to shoot at them, and they were going to run away,” Mpungose said.

However, the department said if teachers armed themselves, violence in schools would only increase.

Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said: “It is important that parents took responsibility for their own children and talk to them and raise them up properly. Violence is not the way of resolving conflict; if there is an issue, talk about it and rather agree to disagree because if one of you dies, then the other goes to jail. That doesn’t resolve anything.”

Meanwhile, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said he was shocked that 13 learners are awaiting court appearances for various crimes they have committed in the province.

Lesufi said the department will at revising their rules for appropriate action to be taken against those who are charged by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Lesufi made these comments while speaking at the memorial service for murdered 16-year-old Daniel Bakwela on Tuesday.

Bakwela it turns out was facing an armed robbery charge, was fatally stabbed by a fellow pupil at Forest High in a apparent gang related fight.

The MEC said it was unacceptable that so many school pupils were facing serious criminal charges.

He said plans are in place to deal with ill-disciplined learners in the schools. .

“So, we are now moving with amendments in terms of learner discipline to include regulations that force all learners who appear in court to declare to the department if they are appearing in court so that the department can take appropriate steps against them.”

Lesufi said those who failed to declare their ongoing cases will be disciplined.

“If you appear in court and you don’t declare to the department, it must be an offence and we must institute a disciplinary hearing against you.”

Furthermore Lesufi added that the education sector needed help to deal with these issues before they became a crisis.