High-school pupils in Limpopo boycotted school on Friday to demand free education, safety at school, transport and free nutrition, the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) said.
Cosas provincial secretary Moses Maponya said about 500 high-school pupils ”took the day off” to march to the offices of the provincial department of education in Polokwane and hand over a memorandum.
”We are demanding … free education and the issue of safety in our schools. Our schools are not 100% safe,” said Maponya.
He said many pupils have to travel long distances to school, which results in poor attendance, as there is no transport provided by the department.
Primary schools’ feeding schemes should also be extended to secondary schools.
”The department must provide food for the same poor students [in high schools] … they have the same family background.”
Maponya said ”radical action” is needed as the department would not listen to students’ grievances.
”We went to the streets because we were forced,” he said.
He said pupils will return to school on Monday. ”In the meantime, we will be waiting for a response from the department.”
The department of education’s provincial spokesperson, Ndo Mangala, said only a minority of students from areas neighbouring Polokwane boycotted school to attend the march.
He said the department had received a memorandum from Cosas, but could not immediately comment. — Sapa