KwaNyuswa school causes controversy

LESSONS resumed on Monday at KwaNyuswa’s controversial school, Thabela High School.

As thousands of pupils started school last Wednesday, hundreds of pupils from Thabela roamed the streets as chaos erupted at the school.

Parents blocked the gates, protesting in response to reports that seven teachers, who had been suspended for corruption, would be returning to the school on Monday.

The allegations against the seven teachers included supplying drugs (dagga) to pupils, misuse of school funds and having no qualifications, among other issues.

When the seven teachers were suspended, the department appointed temporary teachers who have since been served with letters notifying them that their contracts have been terminated, but parents said they had not been notified.

One of the parents, who wished to remain anonymous, said it angers her that the school does not consult with parents when important decisions are made.

“This is our children’s future they are gambling with,” she said.

The parent, who is also a former pupil of the school, said the school had become “a joke”, also referring to the deterioration of the premises.

The Democratic Alliance said it was investigating claims of wide-scale corruption, nepotism, financial mismanagement and other serious malpractice, including the sale of matric certificates at some 20 schools in the KwaNyuswa area, and is calling on the Public Protector to investigate.

This comes after the DA was invited to attend a meeting with school representatives recently and afterwards were in possession of crucial documents pertaining to the supposed corruption and mismanagement of funds at the school.

Mbali Ntuli, MPL and DA KZN spokesman for education, said the DA was appalled that it should take such drastic community action before the department takes action.

“We place full responsibility for this volatile situation at the door of KZN’s Education MEC, Peggy Nkonyeni.

“KZN pupils went back to school on Wednesday morning, yet the situation at this school and within the community at large is far from conducive to any kind of learning.

“The DA expects MEC Nkonyeni to explain what interventions have been made by the province’s Department of Education regarding these KwaNyuswa schools over the past two years,” said Ntuli.

Department of Education spokesman, Muzi Mahlambi, said the temporary teachers have been re-employed until the end of February while they are engaging with stakeholders.

“This is to ensure that pupils are being taught in the meantime. Regarding allegations that there was a teacher who was giving pupils dagga, that matter has been resolved as he was cleared of those allegations,” said Mahlambi.

Ntuli added that they will forward what they regard as solid evidence to the Public Protector for thorough investigation. “We will also study these documents in more detail, and, where necessary, we will begin to expose their contents,” she said.