Pupils go on rampage - stone parents and teachers

Pupils rioted on Monday morning at a school near Mthatha causing more than R100 000 in damage, Eastern Cape police said.

The pupils at Joyi Secondary School in Baziya, 45km from Mthatha, rioted after they were told by parents and teachers that there was no funding for them to travel to Port Elizabeth to play soccer, Superintendent Mzukisi Fatyela said.

The parents and teachers had met at 08:30 to discuss the situation. When it became clear that no funding was available, an announcement was made to the pupils who responded by throwing stones.

"The parents and teachers who were in the meeting were stoned; they managed to run away from the angry students and locked themselves in some of the classrooms," Fatyela said.

The pupils went on to destroy the staff room and seven classrooms. One of the classrooms was a computer lab. Fatyela said four computers were completely destroyed.

By the time police responded from Mthatha, the pupils had already fled.

Fatyela said a case of malicious damage to property had been opened and police were investigating. Arrests would soon be made, he said.