Johannesburg - The national police commissioner was given an ultimatum on Friday to attend to alleged corruption at the police forensic laboratory in Silverton, Pretoria.

"Failure to attend to these matters will leave us with no option but to mobilise all our resources for one of the biggest marches ever [under]taken by us," Gauteng Popcru secretary Matsemela Matsemela said.

He said national commissioner Riah Phiyega had seven days to act.

SA: ‘Low-fee schools on the rise’

South Africa is experiencing a significant rise in affordable independent learning facilities. The growing phenomenon of low-fee private schools means they are no longer reserved for the elite.

Whether or not the "South African schooling system fails to provide major sections of society with adequate education", as Professor Stefan Schirmer said in a 2010 Centre for Development and Enterprise report, Hidden Assets, one thing is sure: the private sector is providing more options for schooling than before.

The latest education statistics report, released by the department of basic education in February, showed that there were more than 12.2-million pupils in ordinary schools (those that do not cater for special needs) in 2010. Of these, almost 500 000 pupils were enrolled in independent, or private, schools. However, experts suspect that more than 4% of South African school-goers use private education.

Scores killed in China earthquakes

At least 80 people have been killed and 20,000 homes damaged by a series of earthquakes, one measuring 5.7 in magnitude, in south-western China.

South-western China is prone to earthquakes. In May 2008, an 8.0-magnitude tremor hit Sichuan province and parts of neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, killing tens of thousands of people and flattening many areas.

Darul Ihsan Media Desk