Students at Lovedale strike against new Code of Conduct

Students at Lovedale College embarked on a strike against the new Code of Conduct and the appointment of the new Headmaster who had just returned from military service. The strike was organised by an organisation called "The Board". The Board was not officially recognised by the school and its leaders were excluded from the school or imprisoned after the strike. Close to 150 students were arrested and charged with public violence and the college was closed for nine days. The strike was the first of a series of school riots to come to the attention of government authorities and compelled the college to appoint a Commission of Inquiry. Following the inquiry, the college decided to appoint a constable to patrol college grounds during the day and at night staff from the college would be responsible for these patrols. Students who had participated in the strike were warned that if they failed to pass their final examinations they would not be re-admitted the following year. Eventually all students associated with the strike were not re-admitted when the college re-opened and were further blacklisted to deny them entry to other colleges or the University of Fort Hare. The college decided on these harsh measures because, according to the internal inquiry report, the college had been in a state of periodic riots since 1945. Therefore, harsh measures were taken to deter further student action. For a while, these measures seemed to have achieved the desired goals. No measures, however, were implemented to address the cause of the strike. The following year, students went on strike again to complain about deplorable conditions at Lovedale.