16 SCHOOLS CLOSED INDEFINITELY, WILL NOT OPEN TODAY

MANZINI – As learners are expected to return to class on a full-time basis today, about 16 schools have been closed indefinitely in Manzini, Shiselweni and Lubombo regions.

In the Manzini Region, the schools were closed indefinitely after learners delivered petitions to their respective head teachers. They are Mhubhe High School, Moyeni High school, Phumtile and Ngcoseni Central High schools in Mankayane and Mvimbeko High School in Ntondozi. Also closed were Zombodze National High School, Kukhanyeni High School, LaMawandla High School and Manzini Central High School.

The closure of the schools was confirmed by the acting Regional Education Officer (REO), Sizwe Kunene. He said the schools were closed indefinitely until his office met with parents to forge a way forward on how they could be reopened.

Reopen

Kunene said: “We’ll not reopen tomorrow (today) in these schools, but we have scheduled meetings with parents throughout the week to hear their input.”
The acting REO said his office needed to meet all guardians from the various schools for their input as the pupils stayed with them. Worth noting is that Mvimbeko High School has been closed for almost three weeks now while Phumtile and Ngcoseni Central High schools have been closed for almost two weeks.
Last week, Zombodze National High School, Kukhanyeni High School, LaMawandla High School and Manzini Central High School, were closed. The petition delivery in some of these schools was accompanied by acts of arson as furniture and other items were burnt at Kukhanyeni High School and Zombodze National High School.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, learners from Mhubhe High School pelted stones at the Ngculwini Police Post, a police vehicle and their teachers’ cars as they boycotted classes and delivered a petition to the head teacher, Mlungisi Nxumalo. The threat to petition had been simmering at the school since last Monday as security was beefed up at the Ngculwini Police Post last Tuesday.

Petition

The learners were said to have delivered a petition which was read by one of their own while some police officers and the head teacher looked on. When the pupil read the petition, the school gate was closed with some of the learners standing outside the school premises. In the petition, the learners alleged that some teachers were gossiping about them in the staffroom; they bemoaned that they were not given an opportunity to bury a teacher and a pupil. The pair was said to have died while the school was closed and they wished the school would have informed them of their demise so that they could bid them farewell.

The pupils also complained that there was only soap in the school while they needed sanitisers in their classrooms. Among grievances in their petition was that the food supplied through the serving scheme was insufficient while they also said there was only one teacher for Biology. Furthermore, the learners disputed the allegations that were made by their parents in a meeting that was attended by the Minister of Education and Training, Lady Mabuza, that there was a teacher inciting the unruly behaviour exhibited by the pupils. Instead, the pupils claimed that even if they met their teachers in demonstrations, this did not make them cross the line. Also, they said there were no textbooks at the school.

Boycotted

The head teacher, Nxumalo, confirmed that the pupils boycotted classes and raised a number of grievances. He said the school’s administration, in consultation with the office of the REO, would look into the concerns. He said: “We also had to close the school as some pupils had pelted stones at teachers’ cars, causing dents. They also pelted stones at window panes. I gathered that they also hit a police vehicle’s window.” Nxumalo said the school was closed indefinitely.
Worth noting is that on Tuesday, additional security was requested at Ngculwini as there was an anticipated protest at the school. The threat had been reported to the school’s administration on the day classes were disrupted by a large explosion which was feared to be a petrol bomb.

The high school has been experiencing constant class boycotts since 2019. It was gathered that last Monday, a pupil reported to the administration that there was a petition that fellow schoolmates were preparing to submit to the administration. Following this, according to impeccable sources, the school requested that police officers be on guard. It was also acknowledged that there had been a disturbance at the school by unknown people as there was a large explosion followed by sequential bangs on the roofing of some classes. The petition by the pupils follows shortly after Minister  Mabuza had claimed that a teacher could be behind the constant mayhem at Mhubhe High.

Meeting

Mabuza said this in a meeting organised to deal with the constant challenges at the aforementioned school. These challenges include constant protests and recently, being the burning of the school. The impromptu meeting between the parents, officials from the ministry, the police and the royal kraal, was organised to address this incident.

Also, on Friday, Manzini Central High pupils boycotted classes and took to the streets, calling upon other pupils to join them. It was gathered that they locked classrooms and showed resistance in wanting to learn, before they were released to go home. The pupils boycotted classes in the same school where Minister Mabuza had held a meeting with head teachers, addressing them on the way forward on how schools should reopen today. The boycott was attributed to grievances over online learning fees, girls wanting to braid their hair and the school menu. The pupils caused a stir in town after they boycotted classes during morning assembly.

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