Exams disrupted as parents prevent teachers from entering school
By Ihsaan Haffejee18 September 2017
Examinations were cancelled for students at
Klipspruit West Secondary High School in Soweto as a small group of
parents protested outside the main gates on Monday. The parents called
for the removal of three teachers and a general worker. The protesters,
who under the banner of Patriots for Equality, accused the teachers and
the worker of abusing, assaulting and insulting coloured children at the
school.
The protesting parents blockaded the school entrance in
the morning and refused to allow the teachers they have a grievance
against to enter the premises. The teachers that were denied entry were
then joined outside by other black African staff members in solidarity
and proceeded to leave the school in a convoy of cars.
By the time the situation had calmed down eleven
teachers had left the school. Three left because they were denied entry
and the others left in solidarity with their colleagues.
One of the teachers who had been denied entry spoke
anonymously, saying that the accusations levelled against them were “all
lies” and that their main concern was just to oversee the preliminary
examinations which were underway.
This latest protest at the school comes as learners are
in the middle of exams. Exams for the day were cancelled for grades 8 to
11. GroundUp observed some students leave the school in the morning
through the broken back fence as no classes were taking place inside.
The embattled school has been in the news in recent
months as parents, educators and the department continue to clash over a
variety of issues. The only reason the matric exams were not disrupted
was because the venue for their trial exams had been moved to a nearby
primary school due to the recent tensions at the high school.
Last month a bus was torched and the school shut down as
protesters – in what is a predominantly a coloured area – took to the
streets after a black African principal was appointed.
Protesters rejected claims of racism, claiming that the
process used to appoint the principal was flawed as there were already
more suitable coloured candidates that were overlooked. They blamed the
South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) for pushing an agenda
that discriminates against coloured people.
But Desmond Luvhengo, chairperson of SADTU in Eldorado
Park, said that the protesters were just causing trouble and that most
of them did not even have any children at the school.
Following the previous protest, MEC for Education
Panyaza Lesufi met with the aggrieved parents. He appointed a temporary
principal and agreed to investigate the various grievances.
Anthony Phillip Williams, a protest leader, said they
embarked on a disruptive protest because their grievances are being
ignored by the authorities in the Gauteng Department of Education. He
accused the department of failing to honour agreements made between the
community and the department. “The principal today is not the main
issue. The main issue is four teachers in particular who continue to
violate their code of conduct,” said Williams. He went on to accuse the
teachers in question of abusing children verbally and physically.
Williams once again denied accusations of racism stating
that some of the accused teachers that they want removed are coloured
men. “Some of these teachers come to school drunk and sleep in their
cars the whole day. This is not fair on our kids. These kids are our
future; they deserve better than this,” he said. He said that a
grievance on teacher conduct was lodged with the department head but
they have yet to receive any feedback.
Two metro police vehicles were at the school but then left as no incidents were reported.
As the bell rang for the end of the school day, learners
streamed out of the main gates. One grade 11 learner just shrugged his
shoulders when questioned as to how he felt about his delayed exams. “We
didn’t do much today. We were supposed to write Business Economics but
we just ended up playing around the entire day. I’m really not sure
what’s going on or when we will write the exam,” he said.
Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona
described the current situation at Klipspruit West Secondary High School
as sad. He said that the head of department had received the grievances
of the community, but needed time and space to conduct his work and
investigations into the matter. He lamented the fact that learners were
forced to delay their exams and indicated that the community protesters
were just being impatient.
Published originally on GroundUp .
No comments:
Post a Comment