Government has with immediate effect closed down Serenje Technical High School in Central Province after pupils on Sunday morning ran amok damaging school property. The school becomes the second learning institution that resorted to riots after Evelyn Hone College in recent days.
Evelyn Hone College students protested and damaged property leading to a two-weeks closure.
In the latest development, Education deputy minister David Mabumba announced the closure in Serenje on Sunday after meeting school management and pupils’ representatives.
The pupils rioted because the school has not explained why they have not sat for practical examinations despite paying for the subjects.
Mabumba says pupils in examination classes will report in August while non -examination classes will resume on September 9, 2013.
ZNBC’s Jacqueline Siulemba, who rushed to the school reports that Police has at least detained 29 pupils.
Some of the pupils told ZNBC that the subjects affected are Wood Work, Biology, Physics and Chemistry.
Central Province Minister Philip Kosamu who is Serenje Member of Parliament (MP) said the decision to close the school announced by Mr Mabumba was aimed at protecting school property.
He said he was saddened with the extent of damage to property where the entire administration block was burnt and appealed to pupils to exercise restraint each time they were aggrieved.
“I can confirm that the Ministry of Education has ordered the premature closure considering the extent of damage to property and to avoid recurrence of the riot,” he said.
He also confirmed that examination classes would be re-opened on August 12, 2013 while the others would return to school on September 9, 2013.
And Central Province Commissioner of Police, Standwell Lungu also confirmed the detention of the pupils in an interview with ZNBC News.
Police said that they picked up 29 pupils and a teacher to assist with investigations and were still looking for two ring leaders linked to the riot which left property worth hundreds of kwacha damaged.
“We are investigating reports that the teacher had harboured some of the rioting students because we believe a number of pupils were found in his house,” Lungu said.
According to police, the incident happened on Saturday around midnight when the pupils protested against the school administration over the move to stop them from holding jubilee celebrations.
The celebrations were moved to September after the pupils had already paid money towards the function.
The pupils were also not happy with the deteriorating poor diet saying they were now feeding on rotten beans.
The pupils went on rampage and set ablaze the administration block destroying property with only the headmaster’s office surviving the inferno.
By late afternoon today , some pupils had started vacating the school while others were reported to have no money to transport them back to their respective homes.
The school’s storeroom and tuck shop were looted by the pupils while the computer laboratory room had its window panes shattered.
This is the second time that pupils at the same school engage themselves in riotous behaviour. Recently, the pupils rioted and destroyed school property before storming a market where they smashed windscreens to more than 10 motor vehicles.
The irate pupils also destroyed windowpanes at Pep and Bata stores but failed to loot goods from the shops because of burglar bars. This was in protest against a teachers’ strike.
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