Sebokeng pupil attempts suicide on school grounds
A Grade 10 pupil at a Sebokeng high school has attempted to commit suicide on the school grounds.
It's alleged that the pupil at Khutlo-Tharo Secondary School in the East Rand drank poison after news that she had failed the grade.
The Gauteng Department of Education's spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed that the pupil was rushed to nearby hospital.
The department had earlier rushed to the school after a fire broke out in the early hours of the morning before pupils were expected to arrive for the first day of the 2020 school year.
"One learner, while we were still standing here, we are informed that she then consumed a poisonous substance and she collapsed. A medical assistance came and she was taken to a nearby hospital," says Mabona.
"We are just hopeful that she can make it."
Mabona urged pupils to approach school management when in distress.
"We would normally want to say to our learners 'you don't need to take your own life, it's not doom and gloom if you have failed, you still have an opportunity to come back'.
'If you need some assistance the professional assistance is there."
Pupils from the Sebokeng school were sent home after the administrative block at the school was ravaged by flames.
The fire has since been contained.
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Fire ravages Sebokeng high school
The fire broke out in the early hour of the morning before pupils were expected to arrive for the first day of the 2020 school year. READ: Damaged school keeps Middelburg pupils at home Emfuleni fire and rescue spokesperson Stanley Gaba says the fire has been contained.