Eswatini Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini has announced the closure of schools with immediate effect.

The Prime Minister has been speaking at the Cabinet offices where he announced that the decision to close schools was taken to protect children from the ongoing, sporadic violence in schools.

Worth noting is that the Prime Minister’s announcement came few days after the country’s Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi said schools will not close despite the threats at schools.

“Regrettably, the past week has been marred by a spate of riots and violence, placing the lives of emaSwati, in particular children of school-going age at risk. It is unfortunate that this comes at a time when we were expecting that children would finally have a chance to catch up on lost school work. As unfortunate as these events have been, and with the view of ensuring children’s safety and their right to protection, His Majesty’s Government has taken the decision to close schools indefinitely with immediate effect,” said the Prime Minister

Dlamini said the ongoing international examinations will proceed as planned. He said security will be provided for these students wishing to sit for the examinations.

Over the past couple of weeks, students from several schools across the country abandoned classes. They filled the streets demanding the release of arrested Members of Parliament among other demands.

However, the country’s Minister of Education in a previous press briefing said schools will not school and further threaten Head Teachers who had suspended classes that government will not release the OVC and Free Primary Education Fund for those schools.