PICTURE: REUTERS Pupils at a school in the Cape Town suburb of Bonteheuwel say they are being terrorised by two “girl gangs”. In Kraaifontein, about 20 kilometres away, a 15-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a 16-year-old classmate to death. The attack, police say, has gang links. This is not a new phenomenon in the suburbs collectively known as the Cape Flats, which were created during the apartheid era when working class coloured people were forcibly relocated to housing projects.Research suggests that the problem of school gangs is actually growing. Conversation Africa education editor Natasha Joseph asked Professor Rajendra Chetty to unpack the issues.You’ve recently published research that explores school gangs in the areas broadly known as the Cape Flats. Why do children join gangs?The problem is complex. It should be viewed from a social, political and economic perspective. Social problems on the Cape Flats include poverty, the breakdown of family control ...
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