JAMIE PETERSEN
On Friday April 29 pupils from Wynberg High School and Prince George Primary School in Lavender Hill, gathered at Wynberg police station to debate issues around crime, among them home, personal and school safety.
Justin Ellis, 15, from Prince George Primary raised the issue of the lack of street lights in Capricorn where he lives. “You don’t even know who’s robbing you,” he said.
Anita Moko,16, from Wynberg High said every house should have whistles so that residents can alert their neighbours when there’s trouble.
On the matter of personal safety, Tamia River, 16, from Wynberg High said you need to be aware of who you’re interacting with on social media. “We must be aware of who we’re chatting to,” she said.
“Most of the time, children live in fear at school,” Iviwe Mtubu,15, from Wynberg High said, adding that if children were scared at school, it would affect their learning.
Adding to this, Chadlyn Fouten, 14, from Prince George Junior said, “They even shoot near our school.”
After the pupils were done discussing those topics, they were asked how they felt about sur-veillance within classrooms. Mikyle Adams, 17, from Wynberg High represented the team that was against having cameras in the classroom. “A child wants to feel comfortable, and doesn’t want to feel like he or she is being watched,” he said.
He added that cameras are costly, pointing out that schools would not only have to foot the bill for the equipment, but also for its installation and mainte- nance.
The team that was in favour of the cameras was represented by Kelvin Theodore Nyoni, 16, from Wynberg High. “Studies show that they’re (pupils) are more likely to behave (if there are surveillance cameras in the class),” he said, adding that “they wouldn’t try and do illegal activities.”
The team that was against having cameras in the classroom won the debate.
