POLICE will today be deployed at schools in Limpopo where preliminary examinations were disrupted by the Congress of South African Students yesterday.

While the Limpopo education department has taken this extreme measure to secure the exams, officials in Gauteng said they would not send in police.

Colonel Motlafela Mojapelo said they were shocked by the disruptive behaviour of pupils at four high schools.

At least 68 pupils from Mulaudzi, Makgofe, OR Mabotja and Monyong high schools were arrested yesterday for disrupting the exams.

The pupils allegedly smashed windows and destroyed school furniture.

The demonstrations started at OR Mabotja, where pupils barricaded the gates while teachers were distributing exam papers.

The pupils allegedly stormed out of the exam rooms and closed the gates and barricaded the road with stones.

Cosas's Sammy Makhubele promised more turmoil at all the schools in the province today.

Makhubele said the department had gone ahead with the exams despite a warning by Cosas not to do so.

"This shows beyond any shadow of doubt that the department does not care about the future of the young people of this country.

"How dare they drag our children into exams while knowing that they have not taught them?" Makhubele said.

Mojapelo said they would be ready for the students today.

"Our aim is to ensure that there is at least one or two police officers in each school, especially those who have threatened to embark on protest marches during the exams.

"We will arrest anyone who tries to disturb the peace during the examinations and ensure that he or she is locked up until we knock some sense into their heads. Our officers will patrol all the schools," Mojapelo said.

Education spokesperson Pat Kgomo confirmed the disruptions.

"But we have sent officials to the affected schools to monitor the situation and try to bring them back to normality," he said.

• In Gauteng, exams were disrupted at Moletsane Secondary School in Soweto, Simunye High in Bekkersdal on the West Rand and Krugersdorp High in Mogale City.

"Officials are in meetings with these learners to clarify the importance of writing the prelims. From the GDE perspective, these exams are important ... they give learners an opportunity to experience the types of questions they will face in the matric exams.

"They contribute to the school-based assessment mark which makes up 25percent of the matric mark. Catch-up classes for matrics in the province started this past weekend," said department spokesperson Charles Phahlane.

"We are still talking to Cosas. We hope there is no violence. We have not taken any security measures."