"I plead with all parents to stop fighting. The issue here can be easily dealt with but we will follow correct procedures when doing so. The response will come in two weeks," he said.

He was addressing parents and teachers at the school in Boitekong near Rustenburg following disruption of teaching and learning at the school after clashes allegedly between Xhosa and Batswana groups.

The skirmish reportedly left two Xhosa-speaking boys injured. One was admitted at a local clinic bleeding through his mouth and his parents went to the school armed with sticks and iron rods on Tuesday, the report said.

Lehari said schools were a place of learning, not battle grounds. He advised parents to play key roles in the lives of their children.

Classes remain suspended after the fight between the Xhosa and Tswana learners at the school. Lehari said school would formally begin on Tuesday.  The outcome of the investigation was expected on April 29.

Departmental spokesperson Elias Malindi said a decision was taken at a recent summit to fight violence in schools.

"As a department, we take violence in our schools as a very serious threat. We had a school safety summit whereby we invited all stakeholders who have an interest in education to come up with strategies for improving school safety," he said.

The department was also in the process of providing security in 200 schools as a temporary measure. In future, security would be increased to include more schools, the department said. 

Billy Segoagoa, a parent, said parents needed to be honest with their children. He said they all knew troublesome learners and not addressing the issue would lead to such incidents. 

Lehari was expected to hold a meeting with learners on Thursday.  

African News Agency (ANA)