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Many Vuwani pupils will have to take their lessons under trees this
winter while some will have to repeat the academic year.
While protests in area, about 40km south of Thohoyandou, may have
calmed, pupils and parents were still feeling the effects of the violent
protests that erupted in May, national director of World Vision SA, Paula
Barnard, said yesterday.
The Christian humanitarian organisation said almost 3 000 children
from seven schools in its Thusalushaka development programme catchment area were
affected by the protests.
The destruction started on April 29, when the Masia Traditional
Council lost a court application to set aside the Municipal Demarcation Board’s
decision to merge the underperforming Vuwani municipality with parts of the
Malamulele municipality in the Vhembe district.
Barnard said the first-term records of some matric pupils had been
destroyed and they had been unable to prepare for the mid-year exams. They would
very likely have to repeat the year.
Barnard said some parents were unable to take their children to
school because they felt intimidated. If they did so, they were branded spies
and made outcasts. She said 30 schools were burnt down or destroyed during the
protests.
Although the government was providing mobile classrooms, it was not
enough and some children were being taught under trees. Some parents had sent
their children to relatives out of fear of being attacked by other residents.
World Vision SA workers were not able to reach some schools during
an effort to assess the scale of the problem because of hostile locals.
“Police have also warned workers against visiting the villages as
it might aggravate angry community members and result in more destruction.”
Nearly 53 000 pupils were affected by the protests and wider
shutdowns. – News24
