Tribalism stops class

VENDA – MADOBI Primary School’s mathematics and English teacher, Edzisani Muthathe was recently shown the door by the school governing body (SGB), allegedly because he is Venda, and the school is in a Tsonga-speaking area.

Muthathe (49) from Mashau near Louis Trichardt now reports each day to the education department’s Hlanganani central school circuit office and has been doing so since February. The frustrated Venda-speaking Muthathe said he had reported the matter to the circuit office and the matter was being investigated.

“Apart from being an educator, I am also a head of department and I execute my duties perfectly. I started working at the school in 2007 without any problems.

“The problems only arose in February when the principal, Mack Johnson Makhubele, announced he was going to retire in April.

“The SGB and the traditional authority were of the opinion that I would be in line for the position, and they turned against me. They hate Vendas wholeheartedly, and this is why I was chased away in full view of Makhubele, who did nothing to protect me. The children and some of the parents who were there at the time were in tears as I was escorted out,” Muthathe described, adding that this situation was also affecting his family.

He said a group led by SGB members and the traditional authority drove him off the premises with the words: “go back to your Venda and leave us alone. Your life will be at risk if you resist”.

Muthathe further said the school taught gr. R to 7 learners and catered for approximately 450 learners. “The school is situated between Makhasa and Vyeboom, where 90% of the people are Tsonga-speaking,” he said.

Approached for comment on the matter, Makhubele said he was “blank” on the matter, and referred all enquiries to the department of education. He refused to reveal whether there was another mathematics and English teacher at the school.

SGB chairperson, Edward Ngobeni, said he refused to talk to the media. “I don’t talk to ghosts,” he said before warning CV not to contact him again.

CV made several attempts to contact the traditional authority for comment, without success.

Education spokesperson, Paena Galane, said he was shocked to hear about the matter. He said the Hlanganani central school circuit office was dealing with the matter while the department monitored the situation.

Galane further said South Africa was a united country with many languages, cultures and religions and the country could not allow any person or cultural group to insult others.

“We don’t want traditional leaders to create unbearable situations at our schools. When it comes to the appointment of principals or the question of who is going to be principal, there is only one person who can make the decision and that is the head of the department of education,” Galane said.