The MEC of Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Sipho Hlomuka, signs a memorandum from parents while uMkhumbane Secondary School SGB member Bulelani Majola and KZN Education Head of Department Nkosinathi Ngcobo observe.
Image: ZIMBILI VILAKAZI
PARENTS at uMkhumbane Secondary School in Chesterville have told KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka that they no longer want teachers accused of neglecting learners over the installation of surveillance cameras at the school.
The angry confrontation unfolded on Monday when Hlomuka visited the school following months of instability that have disrupted learning since the beginning of the year.
For the past four months, 22 teachers affiliated to the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) have allegedly refused to teach, claiming they opposed the installation of cameras inside classrooms.
The school employs 39 teachers in total. Following the boycott by Sadtu-affiliated teachers, parents, through the School Governing Body (SGB), reportedly hired 15 part-time teachers, who are graduates from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, using funds raised by parents.
Hlomuka arrived late for the meeting and initially held discussions with several individuals before addressing a large gathering of frustrated parents.
The meeting became highly charged as parents repeatedly interrupted the MEC while voicing their anger over the prolonged disruption to learning. Applause and chants frequently erupted from the crowd as community representatives presented their grievances, causing proceedings to continue well into the evening.
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka receiving a memorandum of grievances by parents from the member of the school governing body, Bulelani Majola, in uMkhumbane Secondary School, Chesterville, that has been plagued by academic disruption due to a teacher boycott by members of the South African Democratic Teachers Union.
Image: ZIMBILI VILAKAZI
SGB member Bulelani Majola told Hlomuka that some teachers had openly stated they would only return to work once the cameras were removed.
“We have teachers who said they would not return before the cameras are removed. The problem is that the cameras are not going to be uninstalled, while our children continue to suffer,” said Majola.
“Parents have made it clear that teachers who neglected learners should go and teach somewhere else because they are no longer welcome here.”
Majola argued that teachers had other avenues available to challenge the installation of cameras instead of abandoning classrooms.
Parent Xolile Buhlalu alleged that teachers who had not been teaching for months were spending their days at a nearby tavern while continuing to receive salaries.
“What we are asking is that you bring Ngobese back,” she said, referring to the suspended principal, Ntokozo Ngobese.
The parents of learners of uMkhumbane Secondary School,in Chesterville, who came out in their numbers to a meeting that was attended by the KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Education Sipho Hlomuka.
Image: ZIMBILI VILAKAZI
In an emotional testimony, another parent, whose identity has been withheld to protect her child, revealed that her daughter was raped during the period of disrupted schooling.
She blamed the ongoing instability at the school for exposing children to danger.
“If all this had not happened at school, my child would not have been raped,” she said.
The parent said her daughter now requires psychological counselling and that she is forced to escort her to and from school daily.
Responding to parents, Hlomuka urged the community to allow the department two weeks to investigate the allegations against the teachers.
“A person who has done wrong must be corrected, regardless of which union they belong to. I ask for cooperation while we deal with this matter,” said Hlomuka.
He said the department would determine whether teachers who stayed away from school had violated any laws or departmental regulations before deciding on possible action.
“If we accept that someone can simply be fired because people no longer want them, then the system will not work. There is no law that allows one teacher to be removed simply because another group wants it,” he said.
Addressing criticism that the department had delayed intervening, Hlomuka noted that KwaZulu-Natal has about 5 800 schools.
“If there is an MEC who can personally visit all those schools, I would applaud them,” he said.
Hlomuka also confirmed that the department would comply with the court ruling on the removal of the cameras and would develop a policy to regulate the use of surveillance systems in schools.
He declined to comment in detail on the suspended principal, saying the matter remained an internal issue between the employer and employee.
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