Grade 9 Eastern Cape Learner Stabbed in School Attack With Scissors
- A school violence incident has sent shockwaves across South Africa, as a learner was viciously attacked
- A grade 9 learner from a school in Alice in the Eastern Cape was the victim of an attack when he was stabbed with scissors
- Two learners attacked him, and they were arrested, sparking concerns of a rise in violent incidents in schools
Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.
Source: Getty Images
ALICE, EASTERN CAPE — South Africans are concerned about the rise in violence in schools after two learners stabbed a grade 9 learner with scissors on 21 August 2025 in Alice, Eastern Cape.
According to IOL, the incident happened at the Enkwenkwezini Senior Secondary School in the Amathole West Education District. The two learners reportedly assaulted and stabbed the victim. The school's staff immediately assisted him and called the South African Police Service after notifying his parents.
The police arrested the two suspects, and the learner is in a stable condition. The provincial Department of Education employed psychosocial staff and the circuit manager to provide the learners with emotional and psychosocial support and to ensure that the learning environment is safe. The department has also called on learners to refrain from violent behaviour.
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Similar incidents of school violence
There have been many similar incidents of violence in schools in 2025. Learners at a school in Lethabong, Tshwane East, received counselling after a grade 11 learner was stabbed to death in full view of his fellow learners on 17 June 2025. The suspect skipped school on the fateful day and waited for the victim after school hours before stabbing him to death.
The Hoerskool Roodepoort school principal was stabbed in Roodepoort, Gauteng, on 18 August while she was trying to stop a fight between learners of the school and learners of West Ridge High School, a nearby school. She was wounded on the hand and was rushed to the hospital, where she was treated.
Source: Getty Images
What were South Africans' reactions?
South Africans commenting on Facebook were shaken by the incident.
Malume said:
"And another one was stabbed in KZN on the neck with a kitchen knife this afternoon after school."
Vasuthavan Govender said:
"This is not normal. The entire school community must come together to plot the way forward for that school. In this case, a dialogue among school stakeholders is the key."
Wandi Mack said:
"The so-called government will turn a blind eye. The MECs will just visit the school in luxurious cars and nothing will happen."
Collen Collen asked:
"What's the main cause of barbarism and rampant immoral behavior in coloured and black communities?"
Proff Forward said:
"As long as there are rights without responsibilities, such atrocities will happen as often as possible."
Mpumalanga learner arrested for stabbing friend to death
In a related article, Briefly News reported that a Mpumalanga learner was arrested after he stabbed his friend and killed him on 14 August 2025. The two learners were on their way home from school when the suspect turned on the victim and stabbed him.
The circumstances leading to the incident were unknown. Learners who reportedly witnessed the incident alerted the teachers, who called the police.
Bail denied for one of the suspects arrested for 4-year-old child’s drug case
In a related article, Briefly News reported that one of the four suspects arrested for making a little child smoke drugs in Newclare, Johannesburg, was denied bail when they appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrates' court on 22 August 2025. According to SABC News, the presiding Magistrate Annalisa Tlhapi denied one of the suspects bail. She said that releasing him might increase the risk of his evading trial, and he might endanger other children in the area.
Tlhapi said that the suspect is facing serious charges and was also previously convicted on a drug possession charge. She added that the suspect poses a risk not only of smoking drugs but also of passing drugs to the child to smoke.
The four suspects, including the child's mother, were arrested on 30 July after a video of them forcing the toddler to smoke a drug pipe went viral. Community members and law enforcement apprehended the suspects, and they were arrested.
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Source: Briefly News
