Police in Mbizana are investigating a case of malicious damage to property after yet another Eastern Cape school was trashed by angry pupils.
The youths were allegedly just about to set their school alight when they were stopped by community members who had been alerted by a caretaker at the school.
This was all on Monday last week, when the rampaging schoolchildren broke more than 130 windows at the Ngalonkulu Senior Secondary School in Mbhongweni village.
They were demanding, among other things, to be refunded the R250 they were asked to pay towards the salaries of teachers appointed by the school governing body.
This is the third school to be vandalised by pupils in the province in the last three months.
Two months ago, the Daily Dispatch reported that enraged pupils at Majali Technical High in Port St Johns had torched five classrooms and their principal’s office over their unhappiness with government’s failure to fix their school, which was damaged by strong winds last year.
Last month, it was also reported that pupils at the Mthatha Technical College had torched the school’s bakkie, damaged computers, broken several classroom windows and even threatened to burn kitchen staff alive, resulting in R500000 worth of damage.
Yesterday the police spokesman in Mbizana, Captain Mlungisi Matidane, confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property had been opened following last week’s violence at Ngalonkulu.
The school’s principal refused both to comment and to give his name.
Instead, he referred the Dispatch to the education department.
However, a traditional leader in the village, Chief Francis Siphumelele said other demands of the angry pupils were an end to corporal punishment at the school and for the teachers to initiate some extramural activities.
She said after they had trashed the school during the day, the group came back and tried to torch the building.
“Residents rushed to the school and they had already managed to switch on a gas cylinder used for cooking.
“But they were not able to go ahead with burning the school because the villagers arrived in time.”
She said after that the villagers and police stayed on guard to ensure the group did not come back.
The Dispatch has established that a parents’ meeting was held yesterday to try and find a solution to the problem.
One of the parents who attended the meeting, SGB member Dickson Madikizela, said the meeting wanted to compel pupils at the school to sign a code of conduct.
“We don’t want another Vuwani here,” he said.
The Eastern Cape department of education yesterday condemned the violence at Ngalonkulu.
But spokesman Mali Mtima said while they could not condone the actions of the pupils, the department found itself against a wall because if some of the issues raised were true, there were violations of policy.
“Corporal punishment is a violation of policy.”
The spokesman had no further comment, except to say that the department was consulting with stakeholders to try and fully understand the situation at the school. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Another school vandalised by rampaging pupils
The youths were allegedly just about to set their school alight when they were stopped by community members who had been alerted by a caretaker at the school.
This was all on Monday last week, when the rampaging schoolchildren broke more than 130 windows at the Ngalonkulu Senior Secondary School in Mbhongweni village.
They were demanding, among other things, to be refunded the R250 they were asked to pay towards the salaries of teachers appointed by the school governing body.
This is the third school to be vandalised by pupils in the province in the last three months.
Two months ago, the Daily Dispatch reported that enraged pupils at Majali Technical High in Port St Johns had torched five classrooms and their principal’s office over their unhappiness with government’s failure to fix their school, which was damaged by strong winds last year.
Last month, it was also reported that pupils at the Mthatha Technical College had torched the school’s bakkie, damaged computers, broken several classroom windows and even threatened to burn kitchen staff alive, resulting in R500000 worth of damage.
Yesterday the police spokesman in Mbizana, Captain Mlungisi Matidane, confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property had been opened following last week’s violence at Ngalonkulu.
The school’s principal refused both to comment and to give his name.
Instead, he referred the Dispatch to the education department.
However, a traditional leader in the village, Chief Francis Siphumelele said other demands of the angry pupils were an end to corporal punishment at the school and for the teachers to initiate some extramural activities.
She said after they had trashed the school during the day, the group came back and tried to torch the building.
“Residents rushed to the school and they had already managed to switch on a gas cylinder used for cooking.
“But they were not able to go ahead with burning the school because the villagers arrived in time.”
She said after that the villagers and police stayed on guard to ensure the group did not come back.
The Dispatch has established that a parents’ meeting was held yesterday to try and find a solution to the problem.
One of the parents who attended the meeting, SGB member Dickson Madikizela, said the meeting wanted to compel pupils at the school to sign a code of conduct.
“We don’t want another Vuwani here,” he said.
The Eastern Cape department of education yesterday condemned the violence at Ngalonkulu.
But spokesman Mali Mtima said while they could not condone the actions of the pupils, the department found itself against a wall because if some of the issues raised were true, there were violations of policy.
“Corporal punishment is a violation of policy.”
The spokesman had no further comment, except to say that the department was consulting with stakeholders to try and fully understand the situation at the school. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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