Speech by Minister of Education N Pandor at the Torch of Peace handover ceremony at Tshepisong Primary School, Roodepoort

Minister of Transport: Mr Jeff Radebe
Acting Director-General of Transport: Mr Mawethu Vilana
Ward Councillor: Mr WB Mfaba
Mr Ranthoko Rakgoale: CEO of the Road Traffic Management Corporation
Acting HOD of Gauteng Community Safety Department: Ms Shoki Tshabalala
Principal of Tshepisong Primary School: P J Morake

Thank you for inviting me here to receive the Torch of Peace from you at the end of the holiday season and the Arrive Alive Campaign. I was encouraged to see that the campaign is making a crucial impact with a reduction in the number of road-related deaths over the holiday season. As I receive this torch, I receive it on behalf of government as a symbolic reminder of our responsibility for the learners in our schools: the responsibility of building safer, child-centred schools across the country.

Over the next two months, the torch will be travelling from province to province, handed amongst my colleagues, the MECs of Education in each province.
As we pass the Torch of Peace from province to province, we will remember those people in our education system who have been affected by crime and violence. We will reflect on the progress of our existing programmes towards safer schools and the reduction of gender-based violence and sexual harassment.

We will also renew our commitment to safer schools programmes in each of our provinces. In 2007 we paid particular attention to 585 "ministerial safe schools" in all nine provinces, which included developing the physical infrastructure of these schools. We also had a partnership with the valued-citizens initiative working with young people from the 585 schools during school holidays on developing positive values and respect for human rights.

In 2008 we commit ourselves to continue strengthening these programmes and acknowledge that we still have many challenges to confront in making schools safer and happier places for our learners and educators. In particular, we will be re-focusing on the reduction of sexual harassment and gender-based violence. Let the Torch of Peace act as a symbol of continued action and commitment to preventing crime and violence in our society and in our schools in all its forms.

I receive this torch as a call to action.
I receive this torch as a symbol of hope.
I receive this torch today to start our "safer schools" campaign.
I call on all to act to ensure the safety of learners and educators in all schools.

All of us - learners, parents, community leaders, teachers and police have a responsibility to make our schools safe places. Let us all remember the murder on 20 October 2006 of Simon Mbele, a school murder that shocked the nation and became a call to action. The spate of murders, at or on the way to and from school in 2006, was a call to action for the education sector. We held a colloquium at the national level and many further meetings were held in the provinces.

We expedited a new national strategy for containing violence in schools and we set in train a pilot project for securing the most vulnerable school in each province. We also promised new legislation. The legislation promised is now law. Schools now have stronger powers to search pupils for weapons and drugs. I ask schools to report back to districts and departments on the working of the new law, to tell us its weaknesses and strengths and to tell us whether we have gone far enough, whether we need to go further.

Back in 2006 I proposed to take stronger steps against disruptive children. I ask you again whether further steps need to be taken this year, whether principals and teachers feel that stronger powers are needed to instil better discipline in our schoolchildren. As the torch circulates through the provincial education departments I ask that information is gathered on this particular issue of discipline.

I especially call on parents to inculcate positive values of respect, honesty, and responsibility in their children. We as parents need to instil these values in our children so that they have respect for themselves and for others. We all need to put our heads together to strengthen the relations between schools, communities and our local South African Police Service (SAPS). All schools should have safety committees. All schools should have simple and clear codes of conducts.

I particularly want us to re-focus this year on the problems that girls face in schools. The "safer schools" campaign takes place within our year-long campaign against gender-based violence. We have a number of programmes in place that are addressing the problems that girls experience in our schools. The child-centred schools framework concept, in partnership with United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), is being implemented in some of our schools. A child-centred school acts in the best interests of children and is concerned about the "whole" child, including her health, nutrition and well-being and indeed her safety.

Related to this is a project on whole-school development, which focuses on working with schools to create strong human rights and values-based school environments. Another project is the implementation of our racial-integration strategy, which strengthens the ability of schools to create environments emphasising positive values and to prevent discrimination of all types.

Addressing school institutional cultures is a complex and sometimes slows process. It involves challenging deep-rooted ways of doing things. We are committed to change, and through all these projects we hope to see greater numbers of gender-aware and gender-sensitive schools. I encourage all schools to participate in programmes like the Girls and Boys Education Movement (GEM and BEM).

I call on the GEMs and the BEMs to be clubs of achievers in all aspects of their lives. Belonging to GEM and BEM should be a privilege, because members do well in school, set good examples, and know the meaning of respect and dignity.
In closing, let every learner say with pride, "I am my sister's or brother's keeper."