Dozens arrested, Lesufi calls for calm at Hoërskool Overvaal
Gauteng police have arrested 26 protesters over the past two days at the Hoërskool Overvaal in Vereeniging.
This while Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, has reiterated his call for calm.
Various political parties have accused Lesufi of causing racial tension.
Protesters gathered for a second day outside the Vereeniging school.
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They are unhappy with the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria that the Afrikaans medium high school does not have the capacity to admit 55 English-speaking pupils.
On Wednesday, 11 people were arrested whilst on Thursday 15 were nabbed for petrol bombing a police vehicle.
Afriforum and the Freedom Front Plus have accused Lesufi of using language as a smoke screen to stoke up racial tension.
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The department's spokesperson Steve Mabona called on protestors not to disrupt academic activities.
"We call upon everyone who is aggrieved about anything to avoid by all means disrupting schooling because the consequences are dire. We are not saying people must not march, people must not be raising their issues. We need to be cognisant that our school should be for teaching and learning."