South Africa Closes 13 More Schools

The government on Sunday pressed its crackdown on campus protests against apartheid, ordering 13 schools, including 10 in the black township of Soweto, to close for the school year.

Last week, authorities closed 20 schools in towns around Port Elizabeth. Officials agreed in negotiations with a group of anti-government black clergymen to keep schools inside Port Elizabeth open if attendance levels stayed above 80%.

Secondary schools have been at the center of protests by blacks seeking political rights. After imposing a national state of emergency last June, the government began a crackdown aimed at restoring order in classrooms.