A KwaZulu-Natal schoolteacher was injured on Monday when about 200 pupils went on the rampage in protest against a school outing being cancelled.
Pandemonium broke out during assembly at Nqantayi Secondary School, near Richard’s Bay.
Later, the children hurled stones and planks at police after barricading themselves on the school grounds.
Police fired warning shots to disperse them, said police spokesperson Captain Rene van der Westhuizen.
”Every window in the school was broken by stones.”
She said the rioting children damaged two vehicles, one of which belonged to the principal.
The majority of pupils at Nqantayi Secondary School at Port Durnford, south of Richard’s Bay, did not take part in the protest and escaped from the grounds, Van der Westhuizen said.
”When the police arrived, the gate was locked and barricaded by two green water tanks. The pupils started throwing stones at the police and tried to attack the police with sticks and planks.”
Police rescued staff at the school and took them to safety, she said.
Cases of public violence, malicious damage to property and assault are being investigated. No arrests had been made by Monday afternoon. — Sapa