Jenna Etheridge
Aggrieved matric pupils from Ndaliso Secondary School in the Eastern Cape who allegedly went on a rampage and burnt down the school’s administration block were meeting with officials on Thursday to figure out a way forward.
In a protest that started on Tuesday, pupils demanded that they be allowed to write all seven subjects and that their Grade 11 report cards reflect they passed all their subjects in 2017, despite having failed.
Several school buildings were set alight and the deputy principal was assaulted by pupils.
“The burning of the administration block follows a protest by the school’s Grade 12 progressed learners who were demanding to write all the subjects despite the advice from the department to write some this year and the remainder of them next year, as they are part of the multiple examination opportunity candidates,” department spokesperson Mali Mtima previously explained.
The protest resulted in 350 pupils failing to write English first additional language paper one.
On Thursday, Mtima told News24 that the pupils and their parents were currently in a meeting at the school with officials from the department, police and unions.
The purpose was to come to a common understanding on the way forward, he said.
Police spokesperson Nozuko Handile said on Thursday that no arrests had been made in connection with the arson.
She added that members of the surrounding community guarded the school overnight to ensure that no further damage was caused.
