Schools closed in the Western Cape

Carter Ebrahim, Minister of Education and Culture for the mixed race community, announced that 454 out of a total of over 900 schools were going to be closed until 1 October 1985, on the grounds that the department could no longer guarantee the safety of staff and pupils due to the disruptive actions of an organised minority, referring to the United Democratic Front (UDF). Government action was an attempt to prevent mass protest demonstration by pupils. However, Black pupils were boycotting schools in many parts of the country in protest against the apartheid system. The major grievance of the students was the inferior standards of education for Black children in South Africa. The boycotting students were also reacting to the banning of the Congress of South African Students Association (COSAS). Attempts to re-open schools in Western Cape were hampered by the arrest of 100 people by the South African Police (SAP) at a meeting of parents, teachers and pupils, aimed at charting a way forward for the restoration of peace at schools.