It has been confirmed that a learner at Bryanston High School was found to be in possession of marijuana, yesterday.
The Sandton Chronicle was alerted by a concerned parent at the school who feared to send her child to school tomorrow because of threats of violence and threats to boycott exams, which begin at the school tomorrow.
“I don’t feel that my child will be safe at school tomorrow, but I don’t want my child to miss out on exams, so I’m in quite a dilemma,” said a parent, who would like to remain anonymous to protect her child.
The parent was also concerned that the children implicated in the drug scandal were being allowed back to school tomorrow.
The principal of Bryanston High School, John Skelton, said teachers were alerted through an anonymous tip-off yesterday that a child in Grade 10 was in possession of drugs.
“After an investigation, we found that the said child was in possession of marijuana and informed local police, who came to the scene to deal with the situation,” said Skelton. He estimated that the child was in possession of about 30g of marijuana.
Skelton said the mother of the child in possession of drugs was informed of the matter and decided to remove the child from the school and asked for a transfer card. He added that the incident had been reported to the Department of Education, which had not yet responded on the matter.
“The child will still need to write exams, but not necessarily at Bryanston High,” said Skelton, who added that a plan was being made for the child to complete exams elsewhere.
Skelton said that steps have been put in place for parents to report incidents like this and to rehabilitate affected children.
“This is a security issue that we take very seriously. There is no proof that the child implicated was dealing in drugs, but only in possession of marijuana. NightGuard Security is present on site to protect the school.”
Aidan Hillebrand, Chairman of the governing body at Bryanston High School, said, “We have found an alternative venue off the school premises for the children implicated to write their exams tomorrow. We will be calling concerned parents to reassure them that the matter is being taken seriously.”
He added that a second child, who was on the scene when the child in possession of the drugs was discovered, will also be writing exams in the alternative venue.
Warrant officer Mmaakgomo Semono was unable to confirm whether the incident had been reported to the police. Semono, however, commented that awareness campaigns have been conducted by police at a number of schools to deal with the issue of drugs in schools.
“Our kids may be abused by drug lords to sell to other learners. We believe that with cooperation from schools, we are able to lessen the prevalence of drugs in schools,” said Semono.
The Gauteng Department of Education was contacted but has not yet commented on the incident.
This is a developing story. Sandton Chronicle will keep you up to date on any further updates.
