Effingham Secondary School temporarily closed after clashes with police, security officers

CLASSES have been suspended at Effingham Secondary School after a series of clashes between learners and law enforcement broke out on Thursday.

This comes after videos, widely circulated on social media, show learners being arrested and allegedly manhandled by security officials.

Officers from various security companies, including the Metro Police and SAPS, also responded to the scene.

In a post on his personal Facebook page, KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu acknowledged the incident.

“I have assigned a two-member team to deal with the situation of police brutality against learners at Effingham Secondary. Legal Service has also been directed to assist in opening a criminal case,” he said on his Facebook page.

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The school has been temporarily closed until Monday, May 23, and a meeting between parents and other stakeholders is set to take place tomorrow.

In one of the most shared videos, a member of the public, in a reflective vest, points what appears to be a gun at a learner while a member of a security company, allegedly from Fidelity ADT, grapples with a female learner on the ground.

Wahl Bartmann, Fidelity Services Group CEO,  confirmed that Fidelity ADT was contacted twice by Effingham Secondary School on Thursday.

“At 09:23 on Thursday, we were asked to send an armed response vehicle after a fight broke out on the school grounds between learners and unknown people. Our officer arrived at the school where he was met by SAPS, Metro Police and a member of the local Community Policing Forum. SAPS requested our officer to assist in restraining one of the learners involved in the fight.

“He suffered minor injuries in the process of trying to restrain the learner. Earlier on in the day, we were also called to send an armed response vehicle to the school, following reports of suspicious behaviour outside the gates. The videos that appear on social media do not portray an accurate version of events at the school,” Bartmann said.

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SAPS provincial spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala directed Northglen News’s queries to the Department of Education.

“There was a misunderstanding between the pupils and the teachers. Parents had to be called in, and police were also contacted. No damages were reported,” she said.

The Northglen News is awaiting official comment from the Department of Education.