Catholic leaders in South Africa decry escalating school attacks, urge action

ACI Africa, Nov 26, 2025 / 14:43 pm

The National Catholic Board of Education (NCBE) and the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Justice and Peace Commission have issued a  joint statement condemning the rising wave of violence affecting schools across South Africa, describing the trend as a “national moral failure” that demands urgent and coordinated intervention.

In a statement shared on Tuesday with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, the leadership of the NCBE and SACBC expressed concern over the continuous insecurity in the South African nation, noting that despite several media reports of rape, killings and assaults, national leaders are still reluctant to act, making it a “new normal.”

“Acts of violence in and around schools make headlines for a few days, politicians express shock, and then the country moves on, until the next tragedy,” the Catholic leaders said.

They expressed concern that violent clashes that circulate briefly on social media fade from public memory without systemic action. “This normalization of violence is a national moral failure,” they said.

Their statement follows the recent killing of the principal and an administrative assistant at Inxiweni Primary School in Thembisa. The Catholic leaders said that the particular incident is not an isolated tragedy but part of a “growing and deeply disturbing national pattern, and the most recent national statistics reveal the scale of the crisis.”

In their statement, the Catholic leaders reviewed the national statistics of school violence in the first quarter of 2024, saying that South Africa recorded 12 murders and 74 rape cases on school premises.

In the second quarter, 13 murders and 106 rape cases were recorded and “over 11,000 burglaries were reported in schools in the past year.”

In their statement, the leaders emphasized the increasing violence in the nation, saying that in the Western Cape region, schools recorded 454 incidents of assault, many involving weapons.

“These figures, shocking as they are, capture only a portion of the lived reality,” they said.

Quoting from Pope Francis’ Oct. 3, 2020 encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti, they reminded the people of God in South Africa that “every act of violence committed against a human being is a wound in humanity’s flesh.” They emphasized the implementation of a well-funded, coordinated national strategy that can break the cycle of violence escalating in schools.

The leaders further advised the country’s education sector to ensure sufficient funding for essential safety infrastructure, such as adequate fencing and security personnel in the South African schools.

The NCBE and SACBC leadership called on the people of God in South Africa to urgently address the issue of escalated violence in schools, saying, “Every learner deserves safety, every teacher deserves protection, and every school must be a sanctuary of peace and learning.”

The leaders further expressed concern that school spaces meant for learning, safety, and growth have become battlegrounds: “Teachers are traumatized, learners live in fear, and communities are left with shattered trust,” they said.

“We urge the government, law enforcement, civil society, faith communities, and all South Africans to act with urgency,” they continued. “The lives of our children — and the soul of our nation — depend on it.”

This article was originally published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted for CNA.