Police, educators, school governing bodies and parents have slammed the popular TikTok trend, ‘Umlando Challenge’, where learners either dance or jump in front of moving vehicles. Some learners from Chatsworth and surrounding schools were captured on video doing the popular challenge recently. Police have encouraged parents to instruct their children to refrain from participating in the challenge as this endangers their lives.
Durban Metro Police Spokesperson, Superintendent Parboo Sewpersadh, said that no one is allowed to stop vehicles on a public road except for policemen in uniform or a traffic officer. “Learners from schools are urged to stop participating in this challenge which could endanger their lives. People who are aware or witness incidents of this nature are encouraged to inform our control room by calling 031-361-0000 to report incidents,” he said.
Community members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said learners from a primary school in Chatsworth have been injured while dancing or jumping in front of random vehicles, doing the popular challenge.
According to videos posted on TikTok, there has been chaos and mayhem at schools as rival high schools head to other schools in order to perform the challenge, deciding who performs it better.
It has also been brought to the Chatsworth Tabloid’s notice that educators at a local school kept learners in class until the learners from another school left the area. At a meeting with stakeholders at Wingen Heights Secondary School hall, the issue was discussed.
Secretary of the SGB Association of KZN, Kishore Hambapersad, who was also part of this meeting, said that this issue has become so volatile that they are scared that a learner could be badly injured or even killed.
“We have noticed that because this is a challenge, if one school does it then another school wants to better it. This is endangering the lives of learners who are running into traffic. It was supposed to be a fun challenge but has gone extreme. There are limited things that schools can do to address the issue regarding discipline therefore learners are taking advantage. We encourage parents to discipline their learners as this is not an issue that needs to be dealt with by the school only. Parents need to be vigilant about how they handle learners from home as discipline starts at home and it is not teachers’ duties to discipline learners but to educate them. Respective role-players and departments need to come together in order to address these issues. It should be addressed as a national issue,” he said.
A learner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that they are interested in this challenge because it is a trend that they want to be part of. “We see famous people participating in the challenge and this is what we are intrigued by. I think my peers do not understand the dangers of this challenge and we do not see it as endangering our lives as we merely have fun while doing it. We do it to keep up with the trend,” she said.
A parent from Shallcross, Collette Naidoo, said she is disgusted with what is going on at local schools.
“My child attends a school in Shallcross. I am also a part of a local crime group where many videos about this challenge were posted. The thought of sending him to school everyday among misbehaved children who are left to do what they want without being reprimanded scares me. I encourage parents to advise their children in not participating in this challenge or any other that puts their lives in danger. Learners should not be roped in but should walk away if they see others participating. The main purpose of school is for them to learn so they should concentrate and focus on their studies and not let wayward challenges get the better of them,” said Naidoo.
