7 HIGH SCHOOLS’ PUPILS PROTEST

SITEKI – Pupils from seven high schools, once again abandoned classes yesterday and engaged in protests due to various reasons.

Four of the schools are in the Lubombo Region and classes were suspended. The affected schools are Mphelandzaba High, Big Bend High, Nkhanini High and Maloyi High. The pupils are calling for the release of incarcerated Members of Parliament (MPs) in Hosea’s Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Ngwempisi’s Mthandeni Dube. They further want their schools’ administrations to punish teachers who they accused of engaging in sexual relationships with pupils and further improve COVID-19 regulations compliance. At Big Bend High, the pupils burnt an old water tank during the protest, resulting in the Head teacher, Shedrack Dludlu, suspending classes. The head teacher said he had called a parents meeting tomorrow.

Demands

Dludlu said the pupils in their demands wanted to be allowed to do various hair styles and that girls be allowed to wear school pants. He said they also demanded a change in their menu. “Classes will resume once we have resolved in our meeting with parents. I have reported the matter to the REO,” he said. Meanwhile, at Mphelandzaba High, the Head teacher, Patrick Vilakati, said the pupils were demanding the return of two pupils who absconded classes and were told to bring parents by the school’s administration. Vilakati said the pupils also demanded the school’s administration to punish teachers allegedly involved in sexual relationships with pupils. He said they suspended classes until further notice.

His counterpart at Nkhanini High, Khumbulani Ndwandwe, said the pupils started protesting at 9am and left the school around 10am to mobilise their colleagues at Big Bend High. Police were called and tear gas canisters were fired to disperse them.  This is the second time the pupils are rioting in a space of a week. Ndwandwe said parents asked that the Ministry of Education and Training intervene in the matter. “Parents asked that classes be suspended until the issues being voiced out by the pupils are addressed,” he said. The head teacher said he once called the pupils to a meeting where he appealed to them to concentrate on their lessons and let their parents deal with political issues.

Meanwhile, REO, Richard Dlamini said he would dispatch his inspectors to meet the pupils and parents to get to the bottom of their concerns. Dlamini said the ministry, through his office, tried to calm the situation in schools but it turned out that there were behind the scenes elements that aggravated the protests. “Our main concern is that the pupils are losing out in their lessons yet exams are close. We have to again engage them and parents to find a lasting solution,” he said.

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