TECHNOLOGY AND REHABILITATION HOLISTICALLY HELP REINTEGRATE CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW

By Cuma Pantshwa

• While some learners of the Class of 2024 found themselves in conflict with the law, the message from the Minister of Basic Education was loud and clear – “South Africa’s education system is not measured solely by statistics but by the lives transformed, the barriers broken and the futures unlocked”.
• One such learner, Lesego Booi, is working to transform his life and has successfully completed his National Senior Certificate at one of Gauteng’s secure care centres, obtaining a Bachelor pass.
• His success story is a result of the multidisciplinary intervention of social workers, educators, nurses, and psychologists in a safe and structured environment.

As South Africa celebrates its highest National Senior Certificate pass rate, the Class of 2024 represents not only academic success but the nation’s commitment to innovation and holistic social transformation.

Among these remarkable achievements is the story of a 17-year-old learner who completed his studies at one of Gauteng’s secure care centres where he has lived since being sentenced for rape in December 2023. The learner, Lesego Booi*, was convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl when he was 13 years old. He is now serving a four-year-sentence at the centre.

Guided by the Child Justice Act and the Children’s Act, the centre provides a safe and structured environment. It offers diversion and rehabilitation programmes, a mainstream curriculum, and specialised education for learners with additional needs.

Beyond education, children are supported by a multidisciplinary team of social workers, auxiliary workers, nurses, and psychologists who address both their emotional and physical well-being.

Booi believes his victory is not just his own, but a shared one, owing to the collective efforts of the support he’s received inside the centre.

He shared how his supporters who believed in him helped him achieve a Bachelor pass in the 2024 matric exams – a dream come true.

Beaming with pride as he is congratulated by visitors from the Department of Social Development national office, he says: “I’m happy about my achievement because it reaffirms that there are (good) days ahead of me.”

During the official announcement of the 2024 matric results on Monday 13 January 2025, the Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube emphasised a crucial message: the success of South Africa’s education system is not measured solely by statistics but by the lives transformed, the barriers broken and the futures unlocked.

She also called on all South African’s to “recommit ourselves to working together to build a schooling system that leaves no learner behind and ensures that every child in South Africa has the opportunity to reach their full potential”.

Booi’s journey reflects this commitment.

By integrating justice, education, and social welfare data, the Department of Social Development strives to fulfill its promise to account for every child who lives in South Africa.

With the collaborative efforts of the Integrated Justice System (IJS), South Africa is harnessing the power of data-driven governance to track and account for all children and enhance service delivery to its vulnerable citizens.

Recent IJS data sheds light on the intersection of education, social welfare, and justice. A total of 615 429 learners passed the 2024 National Senior Certificate. Just over 1 000 of the matric learners had been in conflict with the law during their school years.

The top five crimes among this group were:

1. Assault (485 cases)
2. Rape (150 cases)
3. Stealing (132 cases)
4. Murder (42 cases)
5. Property crime (38 cases)

These statistics highlight the importance of interventions that address not only the consequences of youth involvement in crime, but also its root causes.

Facilities like the facility in which Booi lives, play a pivotal role in empowering these young lives. Currently, there are 28 such centres in South Africa.

Providing a structured environment

Opened in 2015, the centre is now in its 10th year of operations and supports over 70 children at a time.

It provides a structured environment where education is paired with psychological and social support to ensure holistic development.

“When I first arrived here, I didn’t know what to expect because it was a new environment that felt foreign to me. I didn’t know where to start but I quickly adjusted especially when I got a call from my mother telling me that I was going to Grade 12. I was happy because that was an opportunity for me not to give up on my dreams.”

For Booi and the other learners in similar circumstances, education has been a lifeline – a way to rebuild their lives, reflect and focus on their rehabilitation to integrate into society and escape cycles of poverty and crime.

“I want to motivate people when I come out of here,” Booi emphasises.

“One thing my parents told me was to continue my studies and not be deterred. I continued studying hard and passed Grade 11 while I was going to court in 2023. I then passed Grade 11 and was sentenced to four years in December 2023.

“Last year, I really pushed hard, even after school I would ask my social worker to be flexible with me and we rescheduled our sessions, but we’d make sure we always caught up on the modules,” he adds.

“Our focus is not on punishment. In fact, as an educator, we do not get involved with the details of the offence or the case,” says Elizabeth Mathabane, a principal at the secure care centre.

“They are children. We are here to teach and are not here to judge,” she adds. “We are here to serve them. We prioritise the protection, rehabilitation, and empowerment of these children, ensuring they have the tools to succeed.”

A cornerstone of this transformation is the integration of government administrative databases.

The IJS links key departments, including the Department of Social Development, the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the South African Social Security Agency, the South African Police Services and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), into a unified system.

Addressing the root causes of youth crime and school dropout rates

By breaking down silos, the government is able to monitor, evaluate, and implement targeted interventions to address the root causes of youth crime and school dropout rates.

“This integration allows policymakers to analyse trends, identify vulnerabilities, and design data-driven interventions,” says Unathi Ngumla of the IJS.

“For example, by linking correctional services, justice and education data, we track children in conflict with the law, understand their backgrounds, and the Department of Social Development can craft strategies to keep at-risk youth in school while finding ways to curb crime in our communities,” Ngumla says.

“Booi’s been one of our most humble youngsters in the institution. He’s never given us issues and has grown as an individual,” says Dineo Rampiti, a social worker who’s recently been working with him. “We have seen that he wants to contribute positively to society.”

Rampiti reaches for his file and shares more good news – NSFAS will provisionally fund Booi’s human resources degree. “He will be studying through Unisa because of the university’s model to study remotely since our client will still be in the facility,” she explains.

When asked about the rehabilitation programmes he has enjoyed, he immediately identifies Module 7 from the programme In The Mirror. The theme of that module focuses on empathy and the importance of treating others as one would want to be treated. “I liked it a lot. It taught me a great deal about respect and putting myself in another person’s shoes.”

Booi’s journey from conflict with the law to academic triumph is an inspiring reminder of the resilience of the human spirit.

The youngest child currently in the facility is just 14, a stark reminder of how early intervention and a nurturing environment can alter the trajectory of a young life.

Through its investment in innovative solutions and holistic systems, South Africa is paving the way for future generations to thrive, ensuring that redemption, resilience, and opportunity remain within reach for all its youth.

*Not his real name.

SA’s CHILD JUSTICE ACT

South Africa’s Constitution requires that the child’s best interests must be considered in every decision made about the child.

With that in mind, the aim of the Child Justice Act is to set up a justice system for children in conflict with the law.

This means that children between the ages of 12 and 17, who are suspected of having committed a crime, will receive additional protection through procedures aimed at preventing them from obtaining criminal records, in appropriate cases.

The Act seeks to ensure that child justice matters are managed in a rights-based manner and assist children suspected of committing crime to turn their lives around and become productive members of society through restorative justice measures, diversions, and other alternative sentencing options, where appropriate.

The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 aims:

• to establish a criminal justice system for children, who are in conflict with the law and are accused of committing offences, in accordance with the values underpinning the Constitution and the international obligations of the Republic;
• to provide for the minimum age of criminal capacity of children;
• to provide a mechanism for dealing with children who lack criminal capacity outside the criminal justice system;
• to make special provision for securing attendance at court and the release or detention and placement of children;
• to make provision for the assessment of children;
• to provide for the holding of a preliminary inquiry and to incorporate, as a central feature, the possibility of diverting matters away from the formal criminal justice system, in appropriate circumstances;
• to make provision for child justice courts to hear all trials of children whose matters are not diverted;
• to extend the sentencing options available in respect of children who have been convicted;
• to entrench the notion of restorative justice in the criminal justice system in respect of children who are in conflict with the law; and to provide for matters incidental thereto.