The Department of Education has emphasised that communities also need to play their part in the efforts to make schools in the country safe.

"In as much as we strive to make our schools safe havens, we also need parents and communities to play a major role in making our schools safer," spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said.

He said pupils who became criminals came from communities and families, urging parents to be actively involved in their children's schooling.

"We need parents to ensure their children are not taking weapons with when going to school. This is a societal problem. We need non-government organisations, churches, school governing bodies, and parents to help us curb violence at schools," he said.

The latest victim of such violence is 19-year-old Simon Mbele of Forest High School in Rosetteville, who was stabbed four times allegedly by a 14-year-old school mate on Monday.

He died at the scene.

The 14-year-old has been arrested and is due to appear at the Booysens Magistrate Court.

Ms Dorothy Khosa, a manager of Youth Violence Prevention at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, echoed Mr Ngqengelele's sentiments.

She told BuaNews that communities and their organisations could play a bigger role in helping curb violence at schools.

"Some of these incidents are pre-planned. Some among the community members may know about that and could prevent it by giving information," said Ms Khosa, adding communities should learn to own schools and treat them as their property.

She urged parents to be involved in their children's lives, especially those who were still in developmental stages, especially 14-year-olds.

"Children at this stage are still trying to discover themselves and deal with a lot of emotions, and often resort to violence as a quick fix to emotional pain," she noted.

Early this year, government tightened security measures at schools, granting teachers the right to search anyone on school premises without a search warrant.

The Department's stance came amid serious violent episodes at a number of schools in the country, which saw several learners killed or stabbed.

According to the Schools Act, a police official, a school principal or a delegate of the principal can, without a warrant, search school premises or any person on the premises on suspicion of the presence of illegal or dangerous objects.

The Department further indicated it was also necessary to extend the safety measures to accommodate school trips and tours.