Students burn school property

Njombe. Forty students of Njombe Boys Secondary School are under police custody for investigation over the burning a dormitory, wood workshop and destroying various properties belonging to the school and teachers.

On Tuesday night around 11pm, the students burnt the properties in pushing the school’s administration to bring back to school their fellow 30 students who were suspended over indiscipline.

Njombe regional police commander Fulgence Ngonyani confirmed the incident and had closed a meeting with the school administration. However, he declined to give details until assessment of the total cost of properties lost on fire was completed.

The incident forced the police in the region to intervene and used teargas to disperse the angry students.

Some police officers who were at the scene told The Citizen that the situation could have been worse had they not arrived early because the students had already stormed into teachers’ houses to destroy them.

By the time the police arrived the students had already burnt a car and demolished a shop of the academic teacher whose name could not be identified immediately. Also, the head teacher of the school, Mr Bernard William, had glass windows of his house smashed.

Mr William said the burnt dormitory, which had a capacity of accommodating 102 students, was totally destroyed including its beds and students’ belongings such as books.

The incident happened at a time when the school was repairing another dormitory which was recently burnt. “The students’ stubbornness really makes us lose hope; their demands are baseless because it was true that their fellow students committed the offence and suspension was a fair punishment,” he said.

Chairman of the school board Ms Maria Mdete, said it was a very sad incident considering that their fellows were not sacked from the school but were only suspended. On Tuesday, the school management met with parents of suspended students to sort out the matter. “After the meeting, we decided we would write to the parents telling them when their children would be back to school, so I wonder why they have burnt the properties,” she said. Ms Mdete noted that the impact of the incident would be more felt by Form Six students who are currently preparing for the final examinations. Regional Education Officer Mr Said Kinyaga Nyasiro, who visited the area with the district commissioner, announced the closure of the school until November 8.