MORE than 60 Mpumalanga high school pupils crammed into a courtroom on Tuesday to face charges following Monday’s violent protest against a teacher who hit a boy.
The pupils are from Sozama Secondary School in Mhluzi township, near Middelburg, and are charged with public violence and malicious damage to property. They were not asked to plead, and will face trial on March 29.
All were released into the care of their parents or guardians. During a riot at the school on Monday, pupils stoned teachers’ cars.
On Tuesday police spokesman Captain Malcolm Mokomeni said unconfirmed reports indicated the riot was started by a group of boys playing volleyball during school hours last Thursday. “The boys allegedly made nasty remarks to a teacher who warned them to go back to class, and the teacher got angry and beat one of them,” Mokomeni said.
On Friday the pupils visited the local police station to complain about corporal punishment. “The commissioner told them he would convene a meeting with the teachers, parents and pupils on Monday,” Mokomeni said. But pupils rioted instead of attending the meeting, and it had to be called off. They disrupted classes at nearby Mphanama High School, and police intervened when they tried to do the same at Sofunda High School.
Mpumalanga education spokesman Peter Maminza said the children had no right to disrupt and infringe on the rights of others to education. He said they were to go back to school, and wait for the education authorities to resolve the matter. Maminza also said the department would take disciplinary steps if the allegations of corporal punishment were confirmed.
— African Eye News Service, March 15, 2000.