Nine pupils at Strandfontein High School will be facing disciplinary action after they filmed themselves smoking dagga on school grounds.
According to Brian Schreuder, Superintendent General at the Western Cape Education Department, a recent Constitutional Court ruling making the private use of dagga legal has seen an increase in school kids smoking it.
However, he warned this ruling did not apply to children or schools, and urged parents and authorities to urgently tackle the matter.
“Today I received yet another video of learners smoking dagga within school premises,” he told the Daily Voice on Friday.
“This is becoming a common sight within our schools and cannot be acceptable. The recent Constitutional Court ruling that the private use of dagga is legal for adults has no bearing in our schools.
“Schools are public spaces and in terms of the Regulations for Safety Measures at all Public Schools, the National Minister has declared all public schools as drug-free and dangerous weapon-free zones.”
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond says the video was filmed on 15 October and involves nine learners from Grade 9 to 11.
The video, which is three minutes and 46 seconds long, shows the pupils, including a girl, standing in a corridor of the school, rolling zolle and smoking them.
Some are also playing with dice and the boy recording the video on his cellphone, wearing a white cap, brazenly blows smoke into the screen.
He says: “This k@k can go viral, hosh!”
He repeatedly asks another boy for a “pil” and “blunt”, telling them: “Don’t smoke without us.”
The teen also walks around the quad filming other children before walking back to the corridor where they continue to smoke dagga.
No teachers are present on the quad.
Hammond says action will be taken against the culprits.
“The learners will face disciplinary action. The school is looking at their playground duty roster and will be requesting additional assistance from parents, [Dept. of] Community Safety, and SAPS,” she says.
“The school will also be looking into preventative measures around drug awareness and counselling.”
Schreuder says any kids caught smoking dagga or using drugs at school will be expelled.
“We must tackle this head on and I request every school to ensure they follow the relevant disciplinary procedures,” he says.
“This is yet another example of the lack of respect some learners have for the institutions in which they are being taught.”