The State of Safety and Security Measures in Public Schools: A Comparative Study of African and European Countries from 2006-2024

School violence remains one of the serious challenges in African and European countries. It is also regarded as a persisting symptom cutting across almost different countries. The qualitative research approach and non-empirical research design, specifically a systematic review were adopted. For data collection, literature reviews were conducted from five (05) countries, consisting of three (3) African countries, including: 1) South Africa (SA), 2) Ghana, and; 3) Zimbabwe and other two (2) European countries, namely; 4) United States of America (USA), and; 5) Canada, restricted from 2006-2024 (not in sequence). For data analysis, the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed. The study findings reveal that although, the selected countries differ in geographical and economy statuses, they all experience various crime in the public schools, negatively affecting and jeopardising the school environment, as well as the Teaching and Learning (T & L) activities. It is recommended that crime against the public schools can be rooted-out if leaners and teachers collaborative efforts and best practices are initiated and shared amongst the relevant stakeholders. Urgent national and international dialogues on safety and security within the public schools can serve as a platform to offer drastic measures and consequence actions of responding to different practices within the school environment.