The Growing Cost of Teaching in Unsafe Schools

Mr Qiniso Sbonile Zwane, from the Gwala clan in the outer west of Durban, speaks about education with a kind of grounded conviction shaped long before university life was upon him.

Raised in a large, close-knit family where elders held learning in high regard, he describes a childhood surrounded by “people who valued education deeply,” a foundation that nurtured both curiosity and ambition.

“My mind does not rest once something has caught my attention,” he says, tracing a path from that early inquisitiveness to his master’s research in Teacher Development Studies.

Supervised by Professor Anja Philipp, his master’s dissertation is titled: ‘An Exploratory Study of Violence in Selected High Schools in eThekwini and Its Relevance for Teacher Well-Being’, the topic emerged from lived observation of communities where teaching was once considered a noble profession, and of a present moment where that respect feels increasingly fragile.

“I would see videos circulating of teachers being violated by learners. It made me wonder what that does to a teacher, beyond that moment,” Zwane said.

His awareness of the broader violence experienced in many Durban townships deepened the question: how much of that environment follows both learners and teachers into the classroom?

For Zwane, centring teachers’ voices was essential. He reflected candidly about what he sees as an imbalance in the system.

“Learners are protected at all costs, which is important, but teachers are not always given the same opportunity to be heard.”

Policies, he argues, can feel restrictive, sometimes leaving teachers ‘powerless’, particularly when support structures fall short. His research, then, became not just an academic exercise, but a platform – one where teachers can speak openly about their experiences.

Some of those accounts are difficult to sit with. One teacher recalled asking a learner to take their seat, only for the situation to escalate. The learner responded aggressively, throwing a pencil case and file at the teacher.

“That teacher was shaken. They expressed fear, and it affected how they taught.”

For him, moments like these made the issue unmistakably real: learner-to-teacher violence is not hypothetical, and its consequences linger.

Across his findings, teachers describe a pattern of emotional strain, fear, anxiety, irritation, even moments of breakdown.

Some reported feeling unsafe in their own classrooms. The psychological toll, especially when sustained over time, begins to shape not just their well-being but their ability to function professionally. One teacher shared that while they often endure the pressure, “sometimes it just hits, and they break down.”

The forms of violence reported were both verbal and physical. Teachers spoke of being insulted, intimidated, and, in some cases, physically threatened or harmed. There were also accounts involving parents verbally assaulting teachers as well as violence between learners themselves, creating an environment where tension becomes part of the daily rhythm of school life.

In response, many teachers adopt coping mechanisms that are less about resolution and more about survival. Zwane noted patterns of avoidance and self-blame, alongside reliance on religious or spiritual beliefs. While some seek support from school management teams, this is not consistent.

“For some, the school management team is their only support system; for others, there is no support at all,” he said.

These gaps, Zwane identified, are where the system begins to falter. Teachers spoke of policies that, in practice, leave them feeling unprotected and of prolonged exposure to violence without meaningful intervention. In some cases, the strain led to resignation.

His findings point to a clear connection: when teachers feel unsafe and unsupported, the classroom cannot function as it should. “If teachers cannot teach, learners will not learn. A moment of fear – a pen thrown, a threat made – can disrupt far more than a single lesson,” he said simply.

Zwane gestures toward a way forward rooted in something both familiar and urgent: the restoration of humanistic values within education.

“We need to cultivate the spirit of Ubuntu, and emphasise the importance of mutual respect, accountability and care.”

Alongside this, his call is for a reconsideration of teachers’ authority – arguing that restoring their ability to enforce rules is critical not only for discipline, but for rebuilding the integrity of the learning environment.

Zwane’s study revealed that behind every classroom door is a teacher navigating far more than a curriculum. And until their well-being is taken seriously, the promise of education itself remains under strain.

Words: Rakshika Sibran

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini