Jayshree Pillay said, “My son has been attending school at Edu Centre for the past two years. This week parents were made aware of a letter addressed to the students, notifying them of the centre’s closure. I am upset that the school did not even bother to contact the parents and send us emails about the school’s closure, or even call a meeting with parents first.”
Pillay added, “Things started going bizarre at the school from the moment we learnt that a family had bought the school and changed the name from Damelin to Edu Centre. This was upsetting to me as a parent because I took my son to Damelin and without being consulted or given good reasons, the name was changed. I don’t know what I will do because my son is sitting his matric exams in a month. I am one of the parents who paid the whole tuition fee of R30 000 upfront and I am feeling robbed.”
Pillay said, “My son’s education is at stake because of people who have not bothered to contact me about the school being closed. We have tried getting hold of the school teachers but they all seem to have moved on and no one is willing to talk to the parents. On 20 September we were called for a meeting at the school but when we got there a lawyer representing the school denied that a meeting had been scheduled.”
The attorney appointed by the school, Thenus Kruger from Kruger Attorneys said, “The school is closing and the reason is because of liquidation; many of the students have not paid tuition fees. It is true that parents have not yet been given any written notice with regard to the closure of the school. My client is not aware of any meeting called by the parents of the students, but the education department is going to call one. The most important thing at the moment is to wait for a liquidator to be appointed before any proceedings can take place. We have been in contact with the education department to look into placing of Grade 12 children immediately.”
Department of Education spokesperson Teddy Twala said, “We are aware of the Edu Centre closing and we are currently in the process of placing every child in a new school.”
