Violence against teachers raises alarm in South Africa's schools

A 62-year-old teacher in Welkom, South Africa, was brutally stabbed multiple times at her home on September 23 by a Grade 11 learner. The attack left her with head and hand wounds, and she remains hospitalized. The Free State Department of Education has launched a criminal investigation, with officials expressing deep concern over the attack on an educator who has served the school for nearly 40 years.

The department emphasized that violence against educators is an attack on the entire education system and the future of children. They called for swift action from law enforcement to bring the perpetrator to justice. This incident follows a series of similar assaults on teachers in other provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Western Cape.

While the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has no national statistics on such attacks over the past three years, they emphasized that incidents involving educators' safety are taken seriously. The DBE outlined various measures in place to prevent and respond to violence, including the National School Safety Framework, School Safety Committees, and partnerships between schools and South African Police Services (SAPS).

However, they acknowledged the challenge of ensuring these measures are consistently implemented. The Western Cape Education Department recorded 56 cases of learner assaults on teachers in the first two terms of 2025, up from 43 in the same period the previous year. The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) called for stronger measures to protect educators, including swift action against threats and attacks, support for school leaders, cooperation with parents and police, and tighter measures to prevent weapons from entering schools.