A teenager has pleaded guilty to all 55 counts, including murder, in a shooting nearly two years ago at Apalachee High School in Georgia that killed two students and two teachers.

Colt Gray, 16, entered the plea Friday without having reached a deal with prosecutors. He had previously pleaded not guilty to charges in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting that also left several others wounded, at the high school about 45 miles (73 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.

Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult with the 55 total counts, including murder in the four deaths and 25 counts of aggravated assault. His trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October.

A jury in March convicted his father, Colin Gray, on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and he is scheduled to be sentenced next week. Prosecutors said the elder Gray gave his son the assault-style rifle used to open fire at the school.

Teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, died in the shooting. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.

Plea means teen faces life in prison

Before accepting the plea, Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm asked Gray a series of questions meant to ensure that the teenager was aware of the consequences of his plea and was entering it voluntarily. To each question, Gray responded, “Yes, your honor.”

Because he pleaded guilty to murder, Gray faces a minimum sentence of life in prison. The judge must decide whether he should be eligible for parole after hearing victim statements, evidence and each side’s summary of the case.

Gray sat at a table in the courtroom with his feet chained together next to his attorney. Members of the community, including some victims and family members, were present in the courtroom.

Victim on Colt Gray: ‘Those decisions were his and his alone’

Breanna Schermerhorn, whose son Mason was killed, told the judge she does not forgive Colt Gray. She said that while adults around him missed multiple warning signs, he was the one who decided to bring a gun to school and to pull the trigger.

“Those decisions were his and his alone,” she said.

She described her son as someone who “made people that were typically unseen feel seen, accepted and safe” and said she was confident he would have befriended Colt Gray if he’d had the chance.

“Mason deserved a future and we all deserved a future with Mason in it, and Colt took that from Mason and everyone who loved him,” she said. She and two of Mason’s sisters asked the judge for a sentence of life without parole.

Shayna Aspinwall, Richard Aspinwall’s wife, told the judge the “grief of losing him is constant” and lamented that the lives of their daughters, who were 2 and 5 when their father died, will be “forever marked by his absence.”

“It is a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind,” she said. She asked the judge to sentence Colt Gray to life in prison without the possibility of parole, saying she didn’t want herself and her daughters to have to endure multiple parole hearings.

A teenage student who was shot recalled that day, telling the judge she remembered feeling “really scared and confused because I saw Colt standing in the door with a gun.” The Associated Press is not identifying the girl, who is a minor.

She said she realized she had been shot and turned to a friend, asking him to hold her hand. She asked other friends to call her brother to let him know she’d been shot and didn’t know if she’d make it. She had trouble staying awake and regained consciousness in a helicopter on the way to a hospital in Atlanta. She had multiple surgeries and wasn’t able to walk for about a year.

“After the shooting I struggled with so much anxiety, and I felt like my life was over,” she said. She also asked the judge for a sentence of life without parole.

Apalachee High School Principal Jessica Rehberg said in court that Colt Gray’s “cruel actions” deserve “the harshest consequences.”

Gray’s defense attorney wrote in a court filing that he plans to call a psychologist, a counselor at the juvenile detention center where he has been held and his grandmother to testify.

Investigators say Colt Gray carefully plotted the shooting

Investigators have previously testified that the teenager carried the rifle onto the school bus with the barrel wrapped in a poster board. They said he left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the rifle, shooting people in a classroom and hallway.

They have said Colt Gray carefully plotted the shooting at the high school of 1,900 students.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent testified at an earlier hearing that the teen left a notebook in his classroom with step-by-step instructions and a diagram to prepare for the assault, including an estimate that he could kill as many as 26 people and wound as many as 13 others.

Sheriff’s deputies interviewed Colt and Colin Gray in May 2023 about an online threat linked to the son. Colt Gray denied making the threat. He skipped eighth grade, enrolled as a freshman at Apalachee after the academic year had begun and then had a spotty attendance record.

Investigators found a shrine in Colt Gray’s bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, prosecutors said.

An investigator testified during Colin Gray’s trial that he had been aware that his son’s mental health had deteriorated and sought help from a counseling service weeks before the shooting, citing anger, anxiety and volatility. But the father never followed through on getting help for his son, the investigator said.

His mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators she had urged him weeks before the shooting to secure his guns and restrict their son’s access to them. Instead, over time, Colin Gray bought the boy ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories, records show.

AP

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By Levy Masiteng

More than 50 learners from two Barberton secondary schools were given a first-hand glimpse of life behind bars during a visit to the Barberton Correctional Centre on Thursday as part of Mpumalanga’s annual School Safety Programme.

The initiative, led by the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison in partnership with the provincial Department of Education and the Department of Correctional Services, aims to deter young people from engaging in criminal activities by exposing them to the harsh realities of incarceration.

“This is a crime prevention initiative aimed at discouraging young people from engaging in criminal activities by exposing them to the harsh realities of incarceration,” the department said.

Learners from KaMhola and Ngwane secondary schools, both in the City of Mbombela, participated in the programme after being identified by the Department of Education as requiring interventions to promote discipline, safety and positive behaviour.

During the tour, learners visited different sections of the correctional facility, where they saw inmate cells, observed the meals served to prisoners and were introduced to the strict routines that govern daily prison life.

One of the most poignant moments came when inmates shared personal accounts of the decisions that led to their imprisonment and the consequences they continue to face.

“They urged the learners not to repeat their errors, warning them against joining gangs, abusing drugs or becoming involved in criminal activities,” the department said.

Officials said the programme is intended to provide learners with a realistic understanding of the consequences of crime rather than allowing perceptions to be shaped by social media or television. They believe the experience serves as a powerful deterrent to criminal behaviour.

The prison visits have become a longstanding feature of Mpumalanga’s School Safety Programme. Similar tours have been conducted at Barberton over the past decade, following the launch of the province’s School Safety Strategy in 2016 to combat school violence, gangsterism, drug abuse and other forms of learner delinquency.

Since then, the initiative has been held annually, targeting learners identified by education authorities as being in need of intervention.

Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison spokesperson Moeti Mmusi has previously described the programme as providing learners with “a first-hand experience of the prison” and using it “as a tool to prevent the learners from being involved in criminal activities”.

The Department of Correctional Services has also characterised the initiative as an important awareness campaign that educates learners about the criminal justice system while highlighting the consequences of crime.

Earlier this year, Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Jackie Macie, condemned incidents of school violence and urged learners to reject criminal behaviour, remain focused on their education and make responsible life choices.

Officials said they hope the prison visit will leave a lasting impression on participants and encourage them to pursue futures free from crime.

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By Charmaine Ndlela

West Coast TVET College has launched a Campus Community Safety Forum aimed at preventing crime, tackling gender-based violence and strengthening cooperation between students, police, college management and surrounding communities.

The two-day launch at the college’s Vredenburg campus brought together the South African Police Service (SAPS), Department of Higher Education and Training, college management, student leaders and community stakeholders.

The second day of the launch, held on Friday, included the formalisation of a multi-stakeholder pledge to improve campus safety through collaboration, prevention and shared accountability.

The pledge commits all stakeholders to maintaining a safe and secure environment for students and staff, acting with integrity and vigilance, complying with campus safety procedures, supporting crime prevention initiatives and fostering an inclusive environment where students can thrive academically and personally.

It also places a strong emphasis on tackling gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), in line with South Africa’s National Strategic Plan on GBVF and the government’s call for a coordinated, society-wide response to the crisis.

Delivering the keynote address, Acting Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape Major General Luyanda Damoyi said the forum represented a collective commitment to protecting young people and ensuring that campuses remained spaces where students could pursue their education without fear.

“What makes today significant is that it brings together people from different sectors who all share a common goal – creating an environment where students can focus on their studies, pursue their ambitions and realise their potential without having to worry about their safety,” he said.

Damoyi said college campuses should be places where lifelong friendships were built, careers began and dreams took shape, adding that students deserved to feel protected, respected and supported throughout their academic journeys.

He acknowledged that institutions of higher learning continued to face many of the same challenges affecting communities across the country, including theft, violence, substance abuse and other criminal activities.

“As the South African Police Service, we have a constitutional responsibility to create a safe and secure environment for all who live in our country. We know, however, that safety cannot be achieved through policing alone. The most effective crime prevention happens when communities, institutions and law enforcement work together,” Damoyi said.

He described the forum as a proactive intervention focused on preventing crime before it occurred by identifying risks early, strengthening partnerships and developing practical solutions.

Addressing students directly, Damoyi encouraged them to play an active role in building a safer campus culture by reporting criminal activity, supporting one another and making responsible decisions.

“No safety structure can succeed without the involvement of those it is intended to serve. We need you to become active participants in creating a safer campus environment,” he said.

The launch also featured a SAPS career exhibition showcasing opportunities in forensic science, investigations, technology, communications, administration and community engagement.

Damoyi said the forum’s success would not be measured by its launch, but by the impact it delivered in the months and years ahead.

“It will be reflected in stronger partnerships, safer campuses, improved communication and meaningful interventions that benefit students and staff alike,” he said.

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By Charmaine Ndlela

South Africa will expand the way it measures the performance of schools and education districts, placing greater emphasis on learner retention, Bachelor passes, distinctions and participation in key subjects rather than relying primarily on the matric pass rate, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said on Friday.

Speaking in Johannesburg ahead of the 12th National Education Excellence Awards ceremony, Gwarube said the expanded approach would be applied from the 2026 National Senior Certificate results onwards.

The assessment will also consider support for learners with disabilities and progress in foundational learning, as the Department of Basic Education shifts its focus towards the quality and sustainability of educational outcomes.

“The matric pass rate remains important, but the future of our country will not be determined only by how many learners pass matric,” Gwarube said.

Her remarks came before the department was due to honour South Africa’s top-performing and most-improved education districts, schools and officials at the awards ceremony, held under the theme “Strong Foundations, Strong Futures”.

“These awards recognise people who have gone beyond meeting targets. They recognise leadership that has strengthened schools, supported teachers and changed the educational prospects of learners,” she said.

The minister said every finalist represented years of disciplined work that often went unnoticed and pointed to the performance of the Class of 2025 as evidence of progress across the education system.

South Africa recorded a national matric pass rate of 88% in 2025, the highest since the advent of democracy.

“For the first time in our democratic history, all 75 education districts achieved a matric pass rate above 80%,” Gwarube said.

“It shows that improvement is no longer limited to a small number of historically strong districts.”

However, she cautioned that pass rates could not be viewed in isolation when assessing the quality of education.

Learner retention, infrastructure, teacher support, performance in individual subjects and persistent inequalities remained significant challenges requiring sustained intervention, she said.

Gwarube said the department was consequently placing greater emphasis on strengthening early learning, particularly literacy and numeracy in the foundational grades.

More than 13,300 Early Childhood Development centres had been registered, exceeding the department’s 2025 target and expanding access to early learning services for more than 1.2 million children.

The department is also implementing compulsory Grade R and plans to train 10,000 Foundation Phase teachers in literacy and numeracy during 2026.

Other interventions include strengthening structured learning programmes, expanding literacy support in African languages and improving the delivery of quality learning and teaching support materials.

Gwarube said education districts would be central to implementing the reforms, with district directors responsible for translating national policies into improved teaching and learning in classrooms.

“The awards we present tonight recognise excellence. But they also remind us that excellence carries responsibility,” she said.

She encouraged successful districts and schools to share their methods and lessons with institutions facing greater challenges, arguing that improvements should be extended across the education system rather than remaining concentrated in high-performing areas.

The department also unveiled a partnership with Canva for Education that will give teachers and learners free access to the platform’s educational tools.

Canva Africa Lead Bianca Sibiya said the partnership would provide educators with digital resources, practical training and continued support.

“We are partnering specifically to invest in teachers and students by providing free access to powerful teaching tools, practical training and ongoing support to prepare classrooms for the future,” she said.

Sibiya said visual and interactive learning could help learners understand and retain information, while digital tools could reduce the amount of time teachers spend preparing lessons and educational materials.

The platform allows educators to create presentations, lesson plans, worksheets, videos, assessments and collaborative classroom activities.

It also includes offline functionality intended to support schools in communities where internet connectivity is limited.

Sibiya said Canva’s artificial intelligence features were designed to support educators rather than replace their role in the classroom.

“AI should never replace teachers. Canva’s AI tools help teachers save time on lesson preparation and resource creation so they can spend more time with learners,” she said.

Learners could also use the platform to create digital portfolios, develop creative and communication skills and prepare for further study, entrepreneurship and employment in the digital economy, she added.

According to Canva, its platform is used each month by more than 140 million teachers and students across 700,000 schools in more than 190 countries.

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By Lebone Rodah Mosima

The Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) has appointed Kedibone Moroane-Nkhobo as its new chief executive officer, saying the appointment comes as it seeks to strengthen skills development and stakeholder partnerships in the energy and water sectors.

EWSETA said that Moroane-Nkhobo brings extensive executive leadership experience in the post-school education and training sector, particularly in research, skills planning and strategic management.

ALSO READ: SRCs demand end to R52,000 NSFAS accommodation cap as student debt mounts

“Kedibone brings more than 18 years of experience across the mining and chemical manufacturing sectors, including over a decade in executive leadership,” the organisation said.

“Her expertise spans organisational strategy, governance, institutional transformation and stakeholder collaboration. She also played a leading role in advancing South Africa’s green hydrogen ecosystem, including the establishment of Green Hydrogen Centres of Specialisation.”

“She holds an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public and Development Management.”

EWSETA said it was confident Moroane-Nkhobo’s knowledge, leadership and collaborative approach would strengthen the authority’s contribution to the sector and the communities it serves.

ALSO READ: Applications open for €15,000 Herman Mashaba scholarship in Austria

EWSETA board chairperson Morwesi Ramonyai-Thonga also expressed the board’s appreciation to Robyn Vilakazi for her leadership as acting chief executive officer.

“Her stewardship, commitment and dedication have ensured continuity, organisational stability and continued delivery during this important transition,” Ramonyai-Thonga said in a statement.

“The Board remains committed to building on the strong foundation established through the collective efforts of our employees, stakeholders and partners. We look forward to working closely with Kedibone Moroane-Nkhobo as we continue to advance our shared vision of a skilled, capable and inclusive workforce that supports sustainable economic growth.”

Ramonyai-Thonga said EWSETA’s organisational values of Respect, Integrity, Teaming and Excellence, known as RITE, would continue to guide its work and relationships with those it serves.

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By Lebone Rodah Mosima

The country’s best-performing and most-improved education districts and schools will be recognised at the 12th National Education Excellence Awards in Sandton on Friday, the Department of Basic Education said.

The awards, held under the theme “Strong Foundations, Strong Futures”, will recognise performance in the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations, improvements in learning outcomes, district leadership and the maintenance of school facilities.

The event will be held at the NH Hotel Johannesburg in Sandton from 08:30 in partnership with Canva.

ALSO READ: EWSETA appoints Kedibone Moroane-Nkhobo as new chief executive

“Education Districts are the glue that holds the entire basic education ecosystem together,” the department said, adding that districts work with provincial education departments to improve the functioning of schools across the country.

Candidates are drawn from districts in all nine provinces.

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule and Director-General Mathanzima Mweli are expected to present the awards alongside the department’s partners. The event will conclude with the presentation of a Special Ministerial Award.

District awards will include separate categories for the top-performing district serving up to 400 schools and the top-performing district serving more than 400 schools, based on their overall pass rates in the 2025 NSC examinations.

Other district categories will recognise the most improved district, the district that produced the highest number of bachelor passes and districts that recorded the strongest balance between participation and achievement in Accounting, Mathematics and Physical Science.

ALSO READ: SRCs demand end to R52,000 NSFAS accommodation cap as student debt mounts

Awards will also be presented for excellence in district leadership and management and for support provided to improve learning outcomes in primary schools.

School categories include the top-performing public ordinary school in each of the five school quintiles, based on Quality Performance Indicators applied to the 2025 NSC results.

The department will also recognise the top-performing full-service school and primary and secondary schools that have demonstrated excellence in the upkeep and maintenance of their facilities.

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By Thapelo Molefe

Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has warned Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) that poor governance, misuse of public funds and resistance to oversight will not be tolerated, saying institutions that undermine public trust will face consequences.

Delivering the keynote address at the induction of newly appointed SETA Accounting Authorities and chief executive officers in Boksburg on Thursday, Manamela said the skills development system was entering a period of reform aimed at improving governance, accountability and performance.

He told the newly appointed boards and executives that their appointments carried significant public responsibility because SETAs controlled substantial public resources and played a key role in developing the country’s workforce.

“Your appointment is not an administrative honour. It is a public duty,” Manamela said.

“You have been entrusted with institutions that control substantial public resources, that shape the future of entire industries, and that touch the lives of millions – workers, unemployed young people, students, employers and communities.”

The minister said South Africa could not afford “another season of institutional drift, weak governance, and programmes that consume public money without producing public value.”

He said the department was implementing a broader “Skills Revolution” that would shift the focus from measuring activity to measuring outcomes such as employment, productivity and economic development.

“The Skills Revolution is not a slogan. It is a programme to reorganise the skills system around the developmental needs of the country,” he said.

Manamela stressed that SETAs should no longer see themselves as grant-disbursing agencies or procurement centres but as strategic institutions responsible for identifying skills shortages, supporting workplace learning and responding to changing labour market needs.

He also warned Accounting Authorities and executive management against governance failures, saying board members should not interfere in operational matters or use their positions to pursue personal interests.

“Board members must not use their seats to chase contracts, appointments, or the interests of those who nominated them,” he said.

“Chief Executives must not treat their boards as ceremonial.”

The minister said several SETAs had required intervention in recent years because of governance failures and investigations involving bodies such as the Special Investigating Unit, the Public Protector and the National Skills Authority.

He announced that cooperation with the National Skills Authority (NSA) would become mandatory, warning that delays, incomplete disclosure and obstruction of oversight would no longer be accepted.

“We will not tolerate delayed documents. We will not tolerate selective disclosure. We will not tolerate correspondence that goes unanswered,” Manamela said.

“Delay is not cooperation. Partial cooperation is not cooperation. And respect for lawful oversight is not optional.”

Manamela said government would support institutions that demonstrated improvement but would act against those guilty of persistent non-performance or misuse of public resources.

“Where there is obstruction, concealment, persistent non-performance, the misuse of public resources, or defiance of lawful oversight – there will be consequences,” he said.

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By Lebone Rodah Mosima

Students’ Representative Councils (SRCs) at four major universities have called for the R52,000 annual NSFAS accommodation cap to be scrapped, saying that funding shortfalls are driving poor and working-class students into debt and putting their studies at risk.

In a joint statement released earlier this week, SRCs from the University of Cape Town (UCT), University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), University of Johannesburg (UJ), and Stellenbosch University (SU) called on the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), and the Competition Commission to urgently address the student accommodation crisis.

They said the problems were not unique to the four institutions but reflected the experiences of students at public universities across South Africa.

ALSO READ: Gungubele calls for workplace learning to close digital skills gap

Last month, the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training expressed concern about accommodation funding shortfalls contributing to student debt at UCT during a briefing on governance, administration, teaching and learning, and other matters.

“UCT indicated that student accommodation cap introduced by NSFAS was reducing the number of students able to access university accommodation,” the committee said.

The committee said NSFAS introduced the cap in 2023 as a measure to prevent private accommodation providers from inflating prices.

“The problem is that there are corrupt individuals and private property owners who charge ridiculous amounts for student accommodation,” committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie said.

The committee noted that UCT absorbed the full funding shortfall on behalf of students in 2023, while the UCT SRC accused NSFAS of failing to provide clarity on whether its proposed referral of private accommodation providers to the Competition Commission had been made and what had become of it.

“The SRC said it wanted NSFAS to exempt all UCT-owned residences from the accommodation cap,” the committee stated.

The committee also said some student debt arising from accommodation funding shortfalls was linked to negotiations and contracts entered into by the university with private providers, even though the university did not financially benefit from student accommodation.

ALSO READ: Applications open for €15,000 Herman Mashaba scholarship in Austria

In May, shortly after NSFAS was placed under administration, the scheme announced that more than R1.1 billion had been disbursed during that quarter for private accommodation payments, benefiting more than 100,000 students.

NSFAS said 95% of accommodation providers listed on its solution partner portals had verified their banking details and were included in direct payments for 2026.

The scheme said it was legally mandated to bring accommodation payment functions in-house from 2026, a move it claimed had helped resolve various system challenges.

According to NSFAS, the changes addressed delays by institutions in confirming students, the misclassification of students as transport-allowance recipients, and uncertainties around accommodation accreditation.

In a follow-up statement, the SRCs said that the continued enforcement of the accommodation cap, combined with a lack of regulation of accommodation pricing, had created an unsustainable environment that disproportionately affected poor and working-class students.

“Since the release of the original statement, it has become increasingly evident that this is a national higher education crisis requiring immediate and coordinated intervention,” they said.

“Students continue to face accommodation debt, threats of eviction, registration barriers, delayed academic progression, and uncertainty.”

They said the growing number of SRCs supporting the position demonstrated a collective belief across universities that the current system was failing students.

“This is no longer an issue affecting isolated institutions — it is a systemic crisis demanding national attention. We therefore reaffirm the demands contained in the original joint statement,” they said.

They called on DHET, NSFAS and the Competition Commission to remove the NSFAS accommodation cap, regulate student accommodation prices across the public and private sectors, and immediately announce the 2026 NSFAS meal and rental allowance rates.

“We remain committed to working collectively in defence of students and will continue to advocate until meaningful and lasting solutions are implemented,” they said.

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