ARMED police were called to guard a high school in Northern Province at the start of the mid-year exams on Monday.
Police were asked to patrol Nkgonyeletse High School at Ga-Mashabela village near Jane Furse where pupils ran riot last week forcing the school to close down.
An urgent meeting involving parents, teachers, pupils, education department officials and police was called at the school on Friday.
After the meeting, pupils agreed to return to classes and that police should monitor the school to prevent further disruption.
Parents agreed to re-register their children as pupils at the school. Central police spokesman Inspector Matjokotja Masenya said police monitoring would continue until all problems were solved.
“We’ve been asked to monitor the school during the examinations but we’ll continue monitoring even after the examinations,” he explained.
Last Wednesday, the school was closed by the rioting friends of a boy seeking revenge after he was reported to police for raping a schoolgirl.
A teacher took the girl to the police, who arrested the boy. The boy is now accusing the teachers of molesting schoolgirls and has incited friends to advocate for the removal of the teacher.
The youths stoned the school and broke the windows of four classrooms last week, forcing pupils inside to flee for safety.
The windscreen of the principal’s car was also smashed.
Twenty-nine pupils were arrested for the incident and were released after a brief appearance at Jane Furse Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
— African Eye News Service, June 6, 2000.