By Nomalungelo Booi
PUPILS full of emotions on the first day of school.
It was a morning of mixed emotions at Progressive Primary School in Dispatch,Eastern Cape on Wednesday, 15 January.
There were tears of joy on parents’ faces, while the pupils were excited to start school.
OVER 13 million pupils return to school for the first day of the 2025 academic year.
It was a joy as friends met after a long break in some schools.
But for others, it was a nightmare as they were not willing to leave their mothers to venture into territories, they were not familiar with.
Some new students held tightly to their mothers at Noninzi Primary School in Gunguluza area 9, reluctant to enter the classrooms.
At Zanolwazi Secondary School in Dispatch , some residents threatened to disrupt classes because they did not want the principal.
But nothing happened.
Youth leader Nonetso Malao said they have been at the school to guard against disruption.
“Nothing happened. We cannot allow certain individuals to close the school because they have agendas. We understand people who belong to a certain political party. We don’t want politics in school.
Nonetso said since the new principal joined the school in 2021, a certain faction has repeatedly attempted to remove her.
“We are guarding the school. On Monday, we cut the grass to ensure pupils arrive at a clean school,” said Nonetso
Principal Meloni Maseko confirmed things went well on the first day, and there was no disruption by the said party.
“District officials were here to observe, and none of those individuals succeeded.”
At Mayfield Primary, parents who said they were not refunded the failed school trip money were at the school to demand the refund, but the principal locked himself inside his office.
In 2024, Daily Kasi ran the story where they locked teachers out as they were demanding their money.
This morning, they stormed into the school to demand their money.
The department has since promised to investigate the matter.
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