Times Of Swaziland: MHUBHE PUPILS RIOT AGAIN!

MHUBHE PUPILS RIOT AGAIN!
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BY STANLEY KHUMALO on 24/05/2019 03:55:00


NGCULWINI – Mhubhe High School pupils are it again! Once again, the pupils
yesterday morning, abandoned classes and rioted, demanding that the suspended
teachers at the school be brought back to resume their duties.
This act of defiance is against a number of efforts by the officers from the
Regional Education Office (REO) to restore order and peace at the school.
Yesterday, the pupils are said to have abandoned classes and gathered around the
school yard, chanting that they wanted their teachers back. This commotion is
said to have lasted for about four hours.
Teachers
While they (pupils) were rioting, teachers are said to have sprinted to their
various vehicles, so they could drive their cars to a place of safety. This
follows that in a riot about two weeks ago, the pupils vandalised school
property worth in excess of E40 000.
This entailed burning of the staffroom, pelting of window panes with stones and
breaking a number of doors.
According to one of the witnesses, the riot started at the upper blocks –
which shelter Form I – IV pupils. Other pupils later joined in.
The first riot, which happened just a day after schools had resumed for the
second term, saw six pupils being arrested for the commotion. However, they were
later released on bail.
Intervention
Meanwhile, yesterday no pupils were arrested; but instead, the swift arrival of
police officers and the intervention of teachers, saw the pupils calm down and
return to class.
Some teachers who were engaged by this publication relayed that it was no longer
a conducive working environment at the school. They said each day they went to
work, they were anxious of what would happen on that particular day.
“It is scary and stressful here, such that we’ll have a tough time teaching
tomorrow (today),” one teacher said.
On the other hand, on Wednesday, teachers had a meeting with senior police
officers, which was later followed by another meeting with inspectors from the
four regions of the country. It is said the meeting was aimed at boosting
morale, following the suspension of two teachers on Tuesday.
The two suspended teachers are the Swaziland National Association of Teachers
(SNAT) President, Mbongwa Dlamini and John Hoffman.
Worth noting is that the head teacher of the school, Agrippa Dlamini, has not
been present at Mhubhe since last week.
The deputy head teacher, whose name could not be ascertained, declined to
comment yesterday.
The deputy has been at the helm of business ever since Dlamini was requested to
stay a home for his own safety. The school has been full of activity, as during
a prayer service, pupils informed Pastor Bakhe Dlamini  that they were not ready
to reform from their wayward ways.