Kempton high school locks bathrooms due to ‘irregularities’
The facilities are locked in the morning when the school begins and are open before school, during break and after school.
In an effort to curb unwanted occurrences in its bathrooms, Hoërskool Kempton Park has decided to lock these facilities during class time since the beginning of the year.
“It’s about precaution,” principal of the school Francois de Kock said.
“It’s not just about learners smoking in the bathrooms, but also because of learners who walk around for no reason and are late for class. There are also learners, both boys and girls, who bully each other in the bathrooms,” he added.
The bathrooms are locked once the school starts (8am) and are only open before school, during break and after school.
De Kock said learners are allowed to use the facilities during class time if need be.
“Certain staff members, whose classes are close to bathrooms, have keys for these facilities, and learners are allowed to fetch keys from them. By doing so, the staff have more control over the movement to and from the bathrooms.”
A resident, Mark Janse van Rensburg, expressed concern over the decision. He feels it infringes on learners’ human rights and needs immediate attention.
“Why are all learners prevented from using the bathrooms during class time because of the smoking problem,” he wanted to know.
De Kock said this arrangement falls within the definition of all human rights, as well as within the guidelines of the school law.
“The bathrooms are locked to prevent certain irregularities. Only two parents enquired about the decision. The Kempie learners experience the arrangement very positively.”
