Lunzu Secondary School fires 56 students

Authorities at Lunzu Secondary School in Blantyre have dismissed 56 students and suspended 28 others following violent demonstrations which forced the school to close last year.

The development comes as the school reopens together with others which were also closed due to violent demonstrations of the students.

A memo from the school dated January 2, 2019 says out of the 56 students who have been dismissed, one was in form two, 11 were in form three while 44 were in form four.

The memo also says out of the 28 suspended students, five are in form one, 10 are in form two, eight in form three while five are in form four.

Form four students at Lunzu Secondary School held violent demonstrations protesting disciplinary action against some of their colleagues after they allegedly harassed form two students.

During the fracas, the irate students destroyed teachers’ houses and torched a multipurpose hall.

Students at Lunzu Secondary School have since been asked to pay K111,000 each for five months to be re-admitted to the school.

Elsewhere, Thyolo Secondary School needs more than K40 million to repair the damage the students caused in protest over what their claimed to be illegal enrollment of students.

Thyolo Secondary School was closed on October 17 2019 after students destroyed school property.

To raise the funds, all the students are being asked to pay K114,000 each in three terms which means that the students are expected to pay K38, 000 on top of the school fees every term before they register.

Reports say several students who were convicted as ring leaders of the protests remain suspended as they wait for the decision of the Ministry of Education.

In a related development, Blantyre Secondary School was closed on October 8 2019 after students protested against what they called illegal enrolment of students from other schools.

St. Michael’s Girls Secondary School in Mangochi District also closed indefinitely following a riot which learners staged over poor diet.

Rumphi and Magawa Secondary schools, which were closed last year, have also been reopened.

In a statement ahead of the opening of the schools, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, William Susuwele Banda, challenged parents and guardians to counsel their wards to refrain from vandalising school property in times of disagreements.

“Vandalising school property should be condemned in the strongest terms because it is retrogressive to the school, community and the country at large. The Ministry would also like to appeal to head teachers and their school management to resolve any grievances raised by students with ultimate speed to avoid issues escalating into violence and vandalism,” the statement reads.