Africa-Press – South-Africa. The first day of the term at Job Rathebe Junior Secondary School in Soweto was disrupted as parents demanded the principal be removed.
Parents shut down the Orlando East school, demanding that the principal, who they accuse of chronic absenteeism, be removed from her position.
They also complained about collapsing infrastructure, a lack of security, and a non-functioning library. Parents also complained about the school only having two toilets.
Police were called to the school after a pupil was found with a gun. Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said that, when they arrived, they discovered it was a toy gun. He said the pupil’s parents were called, and he was given a warning. The toy gun was also confiscated.
Group disrupts UCT exam session by pulling papers off students’ desks
Dennis Macaucau, Gauteng education chief director of the Johannesburg region, said: “We had a very bad start this morning… It’s the first day of the third term, but unfortunately, because of concerns that parents were raising around the school, they resorted to shutting down the gates.”
Macaucau said the department had negotiated with the parents and the school governing body (SGB) to allow classes to continue.
He said, during a meeting with the parents, they had also raised concerns about the management of the school.
“We did agree that, as a department, there are areas we did not address adequately.”
He said they had agreed to form a task team to look into the issues raised by parents. “We have given ourselves 14 days to address some of the issues that are affecting this institution.”
Reported
Macaucau said the principal had not reported to work on Tuesday.
“The principal was not part of the meeting today. From our side, we are going to investigate why she is not at school today.”
He added that she was not suspended, but that they had appointed a caretaker principal, while they investigate why the principal is not at school.
A contractor had also been appointed to deal with infrastructure issues.
SGB chairperson Bafana Mlambo was pleased a caretaker principal had taken over, saying he hopes the principal is eventually removed permanently.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
