Genevieve Serra|Published
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) says contingency plans are in place to protect learners and educators and limit disruption to National Senior Certificate examinations and assessments amid gang violence and protests in parts of the province.
With the National Senior Certificate exams under way, the WCED said the examination system was supported by dedicated officials at provincial, district and circuit level who could respond at short notice.
Gang violence affected communities including Bonteheuwel and Strandfontein, while protests in Tafelsig also affected access to schools. Principals who issued public letters said law enforcement agencies were on patrol and that contingency plans were in place.
WCED prepares for possible exam disruptions
In Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, protests following the murder of a young woman who was burnt beyond recognition saw tyres being set alight and stones being thrown. Children attending schools near the protests had to be escorted by their parents after authorities closed roads used to access their homes.
The Collaborative Implementation Protocol on School Safety was launched in 2025 by the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, and suspended Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu. The Safe Schools Protocol aims to tackle violence, crime and insecurity in and around schools.
The protocol emphasises shared responsibility, integrating civil-society organisations, parents, school governing bodies and learners into the school-safety system.
Mchunu said at the time that 283 schools nationally had been identified as being in hotspots and that visible policing would be increased in those communities.
Bronagh Hammond, WCED spokesperson, said that while the NSC examinations were under way, plans were in place to ensure that external disruptions did not affect them.
Hammond said the system is supported by dedicated officials at provincial, district and circuit level who have extensive experience in responding to such incidents at short notice.
“The WCED's examinations teams are highly experienced and have well-established contingency plans in place to deal with a wide range of unforeseen circumstances that may arise during the National Senior Certificate examinations,” she said.
“These include weather-related disruptions, gang-related incidents, protests, transport challenges, power outages and situations where candidates are unable to access examination venues.
Police and LEAP resources deployed in hotspots
“In areas affected by gang activity, the WCED maintains close communication with the South African Police Service, local safety structures and other relevant authorities to monitor potential threats and determine whether additional measures are required.”
This was confirmed by Anroux Marais, MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety, who said the protocol meant that it was all hands on deck.
“Law enforcement operations have been intensified in areas experiencing an escalation in shooting incidents with numerous arrests made and firearms confiscated. Additional policing resources have also been deployed to the affected areas to bring stability,” she said.
The City of Cape Town said its LEAP officers had been deployed to crime and gang hotspots.
“Their deployments are dictated by SAPS’s crime statistics and that is why LEAP officers are currently deployed in Delft, Khayelitsha, Phillipi East, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu as the worst affected policing precincts insofar as murder, attempted murder and other serious and violent crime is concerned,” said the City in response to questions from Vanessa Le Roux, founder of Parents for Equal Education SA (PEESA), about the presence of LEAP officers in gang hotspots.
Violence affects learners’ access to school
In Bonteheuwel, ward councillor Angus McKenzie said they had even stopped their election campaign to ensure that learners could be escorted safely to school.
“Gang violence can contribute to how children write their exams, it affects their confidence, many years ago when Bonteheuwel had a direct of that, we saw a very low matric rate, we never saw children staying in the school system, we worked exceptionally hard to make Bonteheuwel safer," he said.
“When we saw the result of that, we saw an increase in our matric pass rate and the retention rate of kids. More children were completing school than in previous years.
“When we had the upscale gang violence in the area in the last few days it was critical to have law enforcement agencies out in full force,” said McKenzie.
Cape Argus reporter Tracy-Lynn Ruiters had first-hand experience of how violence and protests could affect children attending school when she escorted a Grade 4 learner to school after a street was cordoned off.
The protests were related to the murder of the young woman.
“When Cape Argus was out covering the story, a little girl in Grade four was stopped by Saps and told she cannot walk any further because they are burning tyres and throwing stones,” she said.
“This child sat crying on the side of the road, we approached her and asked whether she knew her parents cellphone number and we walked with her.
“We then drove her to her school and they got in contact with her parents and the next day when we checked up on her, the receptionist said that she arrived at home safely and did not attend school the next day probably due to all the trauma.”
A teacher at Mitchells Plain also provided insight into how protocols are followed and adhered to when gang violence increases, revealing that lunch breaks or even walking around the school property was not allowed: “If the area was hostile because the shooting happened right outside of the school gates or children that were shot, they would announce protocols on the intercom, that the children are not allowed to run errands or use the toilet or leave the classroom.”