Deputy Minister for Police, Honorable Bongani Mkongi MP, announced the hosting of the School and Campus Safety Summit to be held on 12-14 July 2017 at the University of the Western Cape in Bellville. The Deputy Minister announced this During the delivery of his Budget Vote Speech on 23 May 2017 at the Old Assembly in Parliament.
The convening of the School and Campus Safety Summit follows the scourge of rampant campus crimes which recently made media headlines about the at many university campuses nationwide.
Among the violent crimes on university campuses, on 6 May 2017, a 22 year old third year female student was allegedly raped by a stranger inside a campus bathroom at the University of the Western Cape in Bellville. Shortly after that on 12 May 2017, Lwando Mantshotsho, a 27 year old final year medical student was allegedly stabbed to death by fellow students at the Walter Sisulu University Medical Faculty in Mthata.
The Deputy Minister of Police visited the scene of the brutal killing of Lwando Mantshotsho on 15 May 2017 and lamented on the senseless loss of life of the student and said some students had become criminals, killing and robbing others. “Some are armed with guns and knives instead of being armed with pens and laptops”.
It would seem that since the advent of #feesmustfall crises, many campuses have experienced a decline or collapse in campus policing as well as the absence of the rule of law.
Proper Access control at many campuses has been severely compromised with outsiders having open access to university premises and posing a danger to the lives of students, as was the case with the raping incident at the University of Western Cape.
The School and Campus Safety Summit will be hosted as an annual forum as an opportunity to assess, evaluate, monitor and review the progress achieved towards the improvement of campus safety in colleges and universities in South Africa.
The Campus Safety Summit will provide an important forum for the Ministries of Police and Higher Education and Training, college and university communities, the campus security industry and other relevant stakeholders to discuss and deliberate on matters pertaining to school and campus safety and security in South Africa.
