Residents of KwaNgema near Piet Retief in Mpumalanga, have called for the intervention of Education MEC Bonakele Majuba, following the closure of four schools in the area.
Schooling was brought to a halt at all schools in KwaNgema after a dispute between the learners of Siphokuhle Secondary School, parents and the deputy principal, regarding the employment of a new teacher at the school.
They want the school to permanently employ a teacher who served on a part-time basis. The teacher is also a local resident. This reportedly led to conflict between the learners, parents and the deputy principal of Siphokuhle.
Teachers affiliated to the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) allegedly downed tools in solidarity with the deputy principal. Speaking on behalf of the parents, Paul Mkhwanazi says they forced all teachers to stop teaching at all the schools in the area.
“Matric students could not write the first quarter exams. They will still not be able to write again this quarter. What is the purpose of the Department of Education – as it is quiet while the rights of students are violated? We are now asking for the intervention of the MEC because the departmental officials have failed. We want him to just listen to us because we are not fighting,” says Mkhwanazi.
Provincial Department of Education Spokesperson, Jasper Zwane says they are aware of the issue and it’s being attended to by the official at a district level.
“We were informed that there was some form of instability in some of the schools in the municipality. To that extent, we deployed our officials from the district to attend to this issue to engage with the situation and to ensure that there is no instability. Our concern is that the learners are losing a lot when these disruptions are occurring. We are happy in that regard that following the engagement with different stakeholders there was an agreement that teaching and learning will resume. Police have also been requested to monitor the situation very closely,” says Zwane.
Zwane adds that there are programmes in place to assist learners to make up for the lost time.
