Pupils at a Qalabotjha secondary school in Vlakfontein had to be transferred to another school to take their Life Sciences exam, after parents prevented them from writing after a fatal stabbing there.
- A group of parents gathered at Qalabotjha Secondary School in Vlakfontein, where a grade 11 student was stabbed to death by a schoolmate.
- They did not allow enrolled students to enter the school to take their Life Sciences exam.
- The students were then transferred to another school, where they wrote their exam.
Matrics at a Gauteng school had to be transferred to another school to take their Life Sciences exam, after parents stopped them from writing after a fatal stabbing there.
On Friday, parents gathered at Qalabotjha Secondary School in Vlakfontein, where a grade 11 pupil was stabbed to death by a classmate on Thursday. They did not want the matricula to enter to take their exam.
Gauteng Department of Education spokesman Steve Mabona said that when they arrived at the school in the morning, a group of parents were already outside the school premises.
“12th grade students were not allowed to write their exams here at school.
“As a department, we had to arrange to bring them to a neighboring school so we could address parents and community members while still allowing 12th grade students to write,” she said.
Mabona said this had been necessary as the students could not afford to miss out on writing their final exams.
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Before the students wrote their exam, a psychosocial team had been brought in to provide support and advice to ensure they were in the right frame of mind to write, he added.
According to Mabona, the parents who gathered outside the school not only distracted the enrolled students, but also stopped school procedures for the other grades.
On Friday morning, News24 arrived at the school to find a group of residents and parents who had gathered outside.
The group proceeded to one of the classrooms, where a long meeting was held with teachers, district councillors, police and the department about the growing safety and security problems at the school.
Allegations are that there was a fight between a group of school children and that an 11th grade student was stabbed in the chest.
mabona said:
Subsequently, the student was rushed to a nearby clinic. Unfortunately, the student succumbed to his injuries while he was receiving medical attention.
He added that the fight was believed to be related to gangsterism.
Gauteng police spokesman Lt. Col. Mavela Masondo confirmed the incident but said the reason for the fight could not be confirmed at this time.
He said a 21-year-old junior had been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing. He had been charged with murder and investigations into the matter were continuing.
