school boycotts

Explanation
School boycotts originated in the Western Cape in April 1980 and spread to several other regions in South Africa. Grievances initially concerned the standard and quality of education but these grew into wider political protest. Street protests and police actions resulted in widespread violence. In the Cape, police shootings led to over 40 deaths. In the Orange Free State, police made use of force and firepower to break up crowd demonstrations, often resulting in injury and, in some cases, death. In Natal, boycotting pupils in KwaMashu defied Chief Buthelezi's calls to return to school, resulting in clashes between pupils and Inkatha supporters. These boycotts allegedly led to an increased exodus of youth from the country to join the ANC. Towards the end of 1985 , the UDF adopted a campaign to make the townships ungovernable. Educational institutions and trade unions became key sites of revolutionary activity. School boycotts and strikes were transformed into scenes of violent conflict and bloodletting. A state of emergency was declared in July and extended in October. It continued until the first democratic election in 1994.