Eden Park Secondary School has been rocked by allegations of financial misrepresentation, unprocedural appointment processes for teaching posts, and a seemingly dysfunctional School Governing Body (SGB).

The allegations stem from a presentation on the school’s 2026 budget held on March 5.

Parents and community members in attendance reportedly adopted the budget as presented; however, Daniel Prentjies, who also claims to have attended the presentation, rejected the budget, citing financial misrepresentations.

Without a seconder, Prentjies’ rejection proposal effectively meant the budget was adopted.

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Speaking to the Alberton Record, Prentjies claimed: “The amounts on that budget were misrepresented with wrongly calculated totals and I pointed this out at the AGM where the budget was presented for adoption by the parents. “I went to the school the following day to pursue the financials of the school and to prove to the principal why the budget values were misrepresented, but the principal denied me my right as a parent in terms of the South African Schools’ Act.” Full story on albertonrecord.co.za

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Speaking to the Alberton Record, Prentjies claimed: “The amounts on that budget were misrepresented with wrongly calculated totals and I pointed this out at the AGM where the budget was presented for adoption by the parents.

“I went to the school the following day to pursue the financials of the school and to prove to the principal why the budget values were misrepresented, but the principal denied me my right as a parent in terms of the South African Schools’ Act.”

SGB member resigns, cites dysfunction, donations unaccounted for:

The Alberton Record has seen a former SGB member’s resignation letter, alleging unprocedural processes for filling teaching posts, unaccounted-for donations, and a seemingly dysfunctional SGB.

The letter, dated April 10, reveals concerns that learners are being released from school due to water shortages despite mitigation measures in place.

“In 2024, I also served as part of the fundraising committee comprising educators only, where we successfully raised funds to erect JOJO tanks at the school. This initiative was intended to ensure that the school could continue operating during water shortages in the area. However, to date, the tanks remain on the school premises unused due to the installation process not being completed,” the letter reads.

This publication reported on the delivery of the water tanks: Eden Park school buys water tanks amid water shortage.

The former SGB member also raised concerns about how teaching posts are filled. “I am also concerned about instances where the functions of the SGB appear to be undermined, as well as situations where Post Level 1 posts are filled through recruitment processes conducted outside of the proper SGB procedures.

“School donations are required from parents without SGB involvement and no accountability with regard to what is done with the donations received from parents.”

Asked for comment, Eden Park Secondary School principal Richard Mbaco said, “The chairperson (SGB) will respond.”

Response by the SGB Chairperson Godfrey Soetmelk:

I am Godfrey Soetmelk, the current Chairperson of the SGB of Eden Park Secondary School. The current SGB assumed office in April 2024. Mr Danny Prentjies was initially part of the SGB; however, he later resigned after expressing dissatisfaction with serving as an ordinary member.

As communicated by him personally via WhatsApp correspondence, he had aspirations of being elected Treasurer, but was unsuccessful after being outvoted by the broader SGB membership.

It must further be noted that Mr Prentjies appears to have obtained a resignation letter belonging to an SGB representative, which had been circulated only within the private SGB communication platforms to which he no longer had authorised access.

I trust that you will find the above in order and that your office will engage directly with the Gauteng Department of Education for a full and balanced response regarding this matter.

The Alberton Record sought comment from the former SGB member. The response reads as follows: “All media communications are done by the Department of Education. I am not allowed to speak to the media. GDE has a spokesperson.”

This publication posed questions to Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) spokesperson, Onwabile Lubhelwana:

1. Is the GDE aware of the allegations against Eden Park Secondary School?

2. Is there/will there be any investigation conducted into the allegations?

3. Is GDE satisfied with Eden Park Secondary School’s management of its finances?

We have received no response from GDE to date. We will update once received.

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