A top Grade 12 pupil at a Mdantsane school was attacked and robbed in his classroom while doing some last-minute cramming for his physics exams last week.
The pupil, who cannot be named because he is still a minor, is not the first pupil from Vulamazibuko High School in NU6 to fall prey to a group of criminals this year.
Thugs have allegedly been targeting pupils as they walk to and from school, robbing them at knife-point of their taxi fares, school bags and cellphones.
The latest attack last Tuesday left teachers and more than 700 pupils at the school fearing for the lives.
Speaking to the Dispatch, the Grade 12 pupil said he went to school one hour early as he planned to do some last-minute studying before writing his exams.
However, unbeknown to him, danger was lurking the minute he got off the taxi.
“As I got off the taxi I noticed two guys were standing in front of the school. They started following me and asked for cigarette money. I told them I did not have money.
“They followed me into the classroom and started roughing me up as they frantically searched my pockets for money. They beat me, threw my books on the floor and left with my school bag,” said the pupil, who suffered a bruised, lacerated eye, and a sprained shoulder.
As a result he was unable to write his physics test on the day.
The thugs jumped, or possibly walked, over the school’s wire fence which is about two metres high, but lies flat in some parts.
The Dispatch spoke to two other pupils who have also been robbed of their belongings while walking to the taxi stop or waiting for their contracted transport.
Teachers who spoke to the Dispatch said the incidents left them with little choice but to stop their extra classes.
The teachers say they would feel safer with a higher, mended fence and more police visibility.
The community and parents have also stepped in and are patrolling the school daily.
Zimkitha Mtshawulana, one of the parents on patrol, said: “We send our kids to school to learn, not to get robbed and beaten up, so as parents we decided to take a stand and fight for our children’s safety.”
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said it was shocking that criminals would brazenly rob a child right in a classroom.
“We wish this pupil well with his recovery and strongly condemn this criminal behaviour,” Pulumani said. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
Pupil robbed and beaten in classroom
The pupil, who cannot be named because he is still a minor, is not the first pupil from Vulamazibuko High School in NU6 to fall prey to a group of criminals this year.
Thugs have allegedly been targeting pupils as they walk to and from school, robbing them at knife-point of their taxi fares, school bags and cellphones.
The latest attack last Tuesday left teachers and more than 700 pupils at the school fearing for the lives.
Speaking to the Dispatch, the Grade 12 pupil said he went to school one hour early as he planned to do some last-minute studying before writing his exams.
However, unbeknown to him, danger was lurking the minute he got off the taxi.
“As I got off the taxi I noticed two guys were standing in front of the school. They started following me and asked for cigarette money. I told them I did not have money.
“They followed me into the classroom and started roughing me up as they frantically searched my pockets for money. They beat me, threw my books on the floor and left with my school bag,” said the pupil, who suffered a bruised, lacerated eye, and a sprained shoulder.
As a result he was unable to write his physics test on the day.
The thugs jumped, or possibly walked, over the school’s wire fence which is about two metres high, but lies flat in some parts.
The Dispatch spoke to two other pupils who have also been robbed of their belongings while walking to the taxi stop or waiting for their contracted transport.
Teachers who spoke to the Dispatch said the incidents left them with little choice but to stop their extra classes.
The teachers say they would feel safer with a higher, mended fence and more police visibility.
The community and parents have also stepped in and are patrolling the school daily.
Zimkitha Mtshawulana, one of the parents on patrol, said: “We send our kids to school to learn, not to get robbed and beaten up, so as parents we decided to take a stand and fight for our children’s safety.”
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said it was shocking that criminals would brazenly rob a child right in a classroom.
“We wish this pupil well with his recovery and strongly condemn this criminal behaviour,” Pulumani said. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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