Pretoria - Two learners from Curro Northern Academy High School in Polokwane were allegedly stabbed by other learners from the same school in what appears to be a bullying incident.
It is believed that the incident happened after the bell rang for the end of the school day following an altercation earlier during break time.
One of the boys was stabbed in the hand while the other sustained bruises and cuts on the face.
The 16-year-old learners, whose names are known to the Pretoria News, but cannot be revealed because they are minors, are in Grade 9.
Their parents were outraged at the incident and have threatened to sue the private institution if it does not act soon on the matter.
The learners were allegedly involved in a feud during break. It’s alleged that the perpetrator and his gang threatened to “get them” after school.
In an interview with the Pretoria News, the mother of one of the learners said: “On August 3 I received a call from one of the teachers regarding a fight that took place at Northern Academy which involved my two sons, who are learners at the school.
“He explained to me that my son and his friends were beaten by a group of learners at school to a point where one of the friends was stabbed with a knife by a fellow learner.
“He said the doctor from the sick bay was busy examining the boys as my son also had scratches on his face. When he asked who started the fight, it was explained to him that a boy and his alleged accomplice, who is in Grade 10, did.
“When I asked where the learner was, the teacher said he was nowhere to be found, but since he was at the boarding school, they would make sure that they found him when they did roll call for boarders.”
She said her son told her the matter started during the break when the bell rang to return to class, and the two victims along with a friend were approached by the perpetrators, who asked them why they were hurrying to class.
One from the victims’ group “rudely” responded, then a scuffle broke out.
The alleged perpetrator then allegedly vowed that their time was coming and he would get them after school.
She added: “Late last month I was called by a teacher in the sick bay for me to come to fetch one of my sons because he was vomiting non-stop. I contacted my husband who went to fetch him.
“After being asked what had happened, he explained that he was beaten by a certain learner at the school and fainted, and when he regained consciousness he found himself in the sick bay. He couldn’t remember how he got there,” the mother said.
The father of one of the victims threatened to take the school to the “highest court” if management did nothing about the matter.
He said: “I am very concerned as to how a knife got into the school grounds. This is a private school where I pay a lot of money and my child comes back stabbed. I will seek legal action if the school does nothing urgently.
“The child can’t even wait outside for me when I go to get him. He’s begged me to be outside when he comes out of school. That’s how scared he is.”
The Pretoria News contact referred us to an email address which had not elicited a response by the time of publication.
Limpopo Department of Education spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene said: “I don't have a report and can’t give any comment on the incident. However, we generally as a sector condemn bullying and all other forms of abuse.”
Responding to the allegations, Curro’s head of learner affairs Lourens Oosthuizen said: “I’m not at liberty to talk about these issues at the moment because they are internal.”
This incident comes after another earlier this year, when 15-year-old Lufuno Mavhunga took her life following a video of her being repeatedly slapped by a fellow pupil outside Mbilwi Secondary School in Sibasa, also in Limpopo.
In February 2019, Thorisho Themane, 30, was murdered in Polokwane, allegedly by a group of learners from Capricorn High School and two adults.
His murder was also recorded on a video that went viral on social media.
Pretoria News