THE angry community of Jakkalsdans and Selepe in Winterveld, Tshwane, held a protest outside the Nick Mpshe Secondary School on Wednesday, 21 February.
They are outraged by what they call an unfair suspension of a grade 10 pupil who the school suspended after a gun was discovered in his bag on the school grounds.
When Daily Sun arrived at the school, a peaceful demonstration turned sour as security guards shut the gate to prevent protesters and members from entering the premises.
AmaPanyaza and cops were called to calm the scene.
The pupil allegedly went to the restroom and returned to find a gun in his bag allegedly planted by one of his classmates.
He then reported the incident to the teacher, and his classmates saw the incident. Yet, he was suspended on Friday, 16 February.
The pupil's mum said that the school called her following the incident to pick up her son.
"They just told me to take my son home because he's suspended, and he'll come back next Tuesday for a hearing because they're investigating the matter," she said.
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According to the mum, since the suspension, the boy has attempted suicide twice. So, they came to negotiate with the school to allow him to study while they're still investigating the matter.
Resident Boipelo Mpue said the teachers are incredibly ignorant, as are the security personnel, and questioned how they allowed a firearm on school property.
"A lot is going on in the school. There's bullying, gangsterism, and teachers having sexual relationships with pupils. We want to see change. Enough is enough!" said Mpye.
"When we questioned a district official who was present at the school about the procedures that were followed, the official admitted and acknowledged that the pupil had been dismissed wrongly. We came to the school with the intention of solving the matter and returning the pupil to school, but unfortunately, the deputy principal gave us an attitude," said the president of Progressive Student Movement (PSM), Kabelo Nthekiso.
"We condemn the school's security because this is the third case in the school with a pupil coming to school with a gun. In the previous incident, an employee of the school was shot and injured. Therefore, we call upon the wardens to be deployed at schools around Tshwane and SAPS coaster to deploy one police official per school," he said.
