Glenview Primary School is under the spotlight after parents called for greater transparency in the school’s finances and demanded accountability over allegations of a culture of corporal punishment.

A press briefing was held outside the school premises on July 21, where a group of parents, scholar transport drivers, and activists addressed the media.

They raised allegations of missing school funds amounting to hundreds of thousands of rands, a refusal for parents to apply for fee exemptions, and claims of corporal punishment and the bullying of learners, allegedly by teaching staff.

Addressing the media, Goodman Motaung, a parent from the school, said: “The key point is the mismanagement of the funds of the school. We found out that there’s R800 000 that is missing from the school coffers. We wrote letters and emails to district officials and up until now, no luck; we don’t have answers. We don’t know how a principal can be at the school when there are allegations of mismanagement of funds.”

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Addressing the media, Goodman Motaung, a parent from the school, said: “The key point is the mismanagement of the funds of the school. We found out that there’s R800 000 that is missing from the school coffers. We wrote letters and emails to district officials and up until now, no luck; we don’t have answers. We don’t know how a principal can be at the school when there are allegations of mismanagement of funds.” Full story on albertonrecord.co.za

♬ original sound – Alberton Record –

Another parent spoke about claims of a culture of corporal punishment at the school.

“There is an unresolved issue of bullying in the school. The school is protecting their teachers who are mistreating learners; they are verbally and physically assaulting kids to an extent that they even take them to a storage room because there are no cameras. We also have issues of unauthorised fundraising; they do not even tell us what the funds are going to be used for,” said Mary Nobuhle Phiri.

@albertonrecord

“There is an unresolved issue of bullying in the school. The school is protecting their teachers who are mistreating learners; they are verbally and physically assaulting kids to an extent that they even take them to a storage room because there are no cameras. We also have issues of unauthorised fundraising; they do not even tell us what the funds are going to be used for,” said Mary Nobuhle Phiri. Full story on albertonrecord.co.za

♬ original sound – Alberton Record

Affidavit hints at possible fraud

An explosive affidavit seen by the Alberton Record hints at possible by fraudulent activities in the school’s bank account.

The affidavit, dated October 14 (2024), was written by a member of the school’s management when a criminal case was registered with Brackendowns SAPS.

The bank informed the school of financial discrepancies that could constitute fraud, prompting a criminal investigation.

“The bank informed me of financial discrepancies in the proof of payment I forwarded to them, and that they should be investigated as fraudulent activities at Glenview Primary School. This was based on the account number that appeared on the proof of payment, and the actual account number reflected on the bank’s system was different, into which R250 000 was paid. The bank advised that I open a case to enable them to investigate to whom the account to which the R250 000 was paid belongs to,” part of the affidavit reads.

There are other payments mentioned in the affidavit, but the R250 000 is the largest. Asked for comment, SAPS sent this publication a short statement: “Good afternoon, CAS 124/10/2024 was closed on October 8 (2025) – suspect is deceased.”

The Alberton Record understands that the deceased suspect is Glenview Primary School’s former bursar who was in charge of the school’s finances.

Glenview Primary School referred our questions to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE): “The school is not at liberty to comment on any matters. GDE is the only port of call with regards to any concerns of this nature and media are communicated with, through the GDE spokesperson,” said the school via email.

GDE responds

In a response sent to this publication, GDE spokesperson Onwabile Lubhelwana said: “GDE is aware of the situation at Glenview Primary School and can confirm that indeed investigations were conducted and it was discovered that an amount of R760 000 was embezzled by the former bursar who unfortunately committed suicide when he was to appear in court. Consequently, the said school has been placed under administration.

“On the issue of corporal punishment, we can confirm that the investigations against the alleged educator are at an advanced stage and the outcome thereof will determine action to be taken.”

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