TUKAKGOMO – Residents are fed up with the principal of Maelebe Primary School. They accuse him of running the school like a “spaza shop”.
They claim the principal has been making decisions without consulting the School Governing Body (SGB) and the community – now they want him to vacate his post.
According to the locals, trouble began on the first day of 2014, when parents wanted to register their kids at preschool.
“We were told the school no longer has a preschool and that we should take our children to private institutions in the area,” a parent who wanted to remain anonymous told Steelburger/Lydenburg News.
The source says the school has three extra classes which are not used, but the principal still chose to get rid of the pre-schoolers. “We cannot take our learners to private institutions because they are costly, and some of them are far from our homes. We might risk our kids’ lives.”
Local Cllr Patrick Makine accused the principal of politicising school matters. “He wants to get rid of the preschool teachers because they are affiliated with South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU). We are fed up with him. He does not care about the future of our kids. He forgets that everyone has a right to education and that schools must not refuse admission to children who live in the immediate vicinity,” Makine lambasted.
Makine told this paper they tried talking to the him but he does not take advice from the community.
“We had a situation were he expelled a learner because she is disabled. Our pupils are seen digging holes and ploughing trees during school hours. When we try to intervene, he calls the police. This has to come to an end.”
Makine also accused the principal of trying to enrich himself with the school finances.
“Instead of giving minor jobs to capable and needy community members. He will be seen fitting tiles and windows on his own,” he added.
While the right to education were being trampled on, there seemed to be no concern from the community. The school gates still remain locked on Wednesday with pupils seen loitering in the streets.
The youth on the other hand are threatening to manhandle him if he sets his foot at the school.
Steelburger/Lydenburg News contacted the principal but he referred the matter to the education department’s spokesman Phuti Seloba whose phone rang unanswered.
