Image by : Antonio Muchave
Lurnay Tshabalala-Mavuso - Senior Reporter | News & Affairs | 29 January 2025
TSAKANE SECONDARY SCHOOL, one of the local high schools in Tsakane, Ekurhuleni has been quite a popular school with news headlines of learners committing suicide each year. Each year the school gets it's new trend with a story of a learner that has either committed suicide, abused or died suspiciously. Even though there is that, parents do not cease to register their children to this school even with it's numerous scandals and the image that it now holds. Learners share very sad and traumatic experiences and sentiments about the school and others shared that they cannot wait to get to matric, so that they can leave the school and never come back. While some are worried that as they observed the current tragic events, they worry about even seeing themselves completing matric at this school.
With another tragic and sad story of a Grade 11 learner who died due to an overdose of what is called ZEN pills. It is believed by sources that the learner took a large number of these pills as he was running away from being apprehended by an officer of the Crime Prevention Force (known as Amapanyaza), who saw the young man with a bottle of pills and wanted to know what those pills are for. The young man then took all the pills into his mouth believing that it will help him to not get apprehended by the officer, only to find that the pills will dissolve in his mouth and then swallowed them. This renders the incident not a suicide as the young man's intent was not to end his life but dodge apprehension. The young man was buried yesterday, 28 January 2025, with some of the learners and teachers including the Principal attending the funeral.
At around quarter to nine, learners held a protest and went loose out of the school gate in support and solidarity of their fellow learner who has sadly passed on. As the learners marched out of the school premises, some were chanting 'Justice' and were heading to the direction of the deceased learner's home to attend the funeral. While some were excited that learning will not be held for the day. Some of the learners shared very sad thoughts and feelings about the passing of their fellow learner.
"It has been very hard for us as learners because we are saddened by this event that has took place. I feel like our school has a dark cloud hanging over it because this has been going on for a long time now and I am tired.", says a learner.
Some learners had different sentiments to share as well as there have been infrastructural problems at the school which were had since from the previous year 2024. Learners have shared concerns on this matter and expressed how it makes them feel that they are learning under such dangerous conditions at their school. The learners further expressed that they aren't sure that the school will be making progress with the fixing of the infrastructural issues at the school, as it has been quite some time now and there is even a shortage of classrooms as there are a lot of learners who have just joined the school.
Tsakane Informer couldn't get ahold of any school representative to make commentary on these matters. However it is alleged according to a reliable source that there are also corruptional acts taking place at the school particularly by the school management. This raises concerns as parents and learners are worried about the future of the school and the image that it currently holds.
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