School governing body (SGB) members at Uxolo High School are appealing to the parents and the community to calm down following a lunchtime mayhem last week.
The SGB says everything is back to normal at the school.
On Friday last week 11 February, a group of learners caused a stir during lunch. They screamed and fell to the ground causing panic among their peers, staff as well as the community.
At least 15 learners took part in the chaotic scenes.
A SGB member, who identified himself as Khophe, confirmed on Monday 14 February that learning and teaching was back to normal. He added that some church leaders and parents visited the school for a short prayer following the incident last week.
Khophe said the incident caused shock waves and panic among staff.
“This whole thing started at about eleven in the morning during lunchtime. The learners started to scream one by one and others fell to the ground and became unconscious,” he explained, adding that none of the learners could explain their actions once they regained consciousness.
Khophe rubbished social media claims about the school principal’s involvement in the saga.
“No, there’s no such thing. The principal has nothing to do with the incident that happened at school. We know the learner that was circulating the news on social media. That learner has a pending case of ill-discipline that he needs to settle with the school principal.
“So, when this thing happened he fuelled it accusing the principal of bewitching the learners,” explained Khophe.
The provincial Department of Education’s Director for communication Bronagh Hammond said there are a number of false narratives being communicated about the incident.
She said some learners reported that they were feeling ill.
“The school followed the correct procedures and called their parents. There is nothing untoward about this. Schools do not call medical emergency services every time a learner displays symptoms of illness. They are dealt with on a case by case basis,” said Hammond, adding that some learners were upset that their parents were called and proceeded to disrupt the school. She stated that as for what transpired and why the learners were sick the department cannot confirm. However, she said if this is spiritually connected no school can intervene as they are not equipped to do so.
“The learner(s) needs to address this with their parents and their spiritual healer according to their family rituals. It is not uncommon for schools to call the parents of the learner to be taken home until they are ready to return. No calling is identical and requires the professional support required for that particular calling. Schools must respect and acknowledge that all learners have different belief systems. However, the primary purpose of schools is to provide an academic service,” she said.
Hammond said schools must ensure that any religion or spiritual belief system does not disrupt teaching and learning.