Parents concern on bullying at Mondeor Primary

Parents at Mondeor Primary School are concerned about a number of issues at the school including bullying.

There seem to be problems and according to them, the principal Freddy Tlhavani is not doing anything to circumvent it.

On August 29 the parents had a meeting at Mondeor Recreation Centre to discuss these problems. A parent contacted the Southern Courier and explained that an urgent intervention by the GDE is needed at the school because it is getting out of hand.

She said bullying is rife at the school, while educators are divided in their loyalty.

“Three boys had bullied my son who is in Grade Three. They kicked him, threw rocks at him and even took his stationery and food. This has been going on for a while. And when he fought back he was called the perpetrator.

“I went to the school and told them to address the issue. I was promised they will, however, they didn’t. I told the principal in person. They referred me to the school’s psychologist who then said the parents of these boys are not cooperating.

“One day I became a detective, waited out the school and I met the parents of these boys and they said they were never called. So what must happen now to solve this?” she said.

The other parent who complained said her daughter is being body-shamed. “She one day came home in tears and said she doesn’t want to go to school anymore. Two weeks ago one child brought his 18-year-old sibling to school with a gun, the teachers ran inside and left our children outside. And the principal didn’t have the courtesy to tell us as parents about the incident.

“I took my child to Mondeor Primary because of its outstanding standard of performance, however, it is deteriorating and no one is doing anything about it.

“Learners cannot go to the toilets as there’s no toilet paper and they are dirty. Teachers are using vulgar language. Some learners brought drugs and knives to school.

“With the suicide rate being high something needs to be done before it is too late. It’s like we are sending our children to a place where survival of the fittest exists. We pay about R20 000 school fees and this is what we get?” she asked.

Gauteng Department of Education’s spokesperson Steve Mabona responded:

“The department is disturbed to learn about the alleged incidents of bullying allegedly happening at Mondeor Primary School. According to a report at our disposal, a parent of a Grade Three learner stormed into the school’s staff room on August 23 complaining about alleged incidents of bullying of her child. She was assured that the matter was receiving attention, the alleged perpetrator’s parents were informed and disciplinary processes will be instituted accordingly.

“To create awareness, the school has been conducting assemblies to address bullying. The police were invited to talk to all grades about the severity of bullying.

“On the issue of an 18-year-old who is alleged to have pointed a gun at a school patroller, it has since been established that he is not a learner at the school but a sibling to one of the learners. The principal accompanied the patroller to the police station to open a case and the matter is being investigated by the SAPS.”

Performance deteriorating

“The performance of the school is not deteriorating as the parent alleges. Our records indicates that the school is performing well above 90%. The parent’s statement about declining performance does not reflect the school’s reality.”

No toilet papers and toilets are dirty

“Toilets are well taken care of through cleaning on a daily basis, timeous provision of toilet paper is made. To refer to the learner’s toilet as dirty, is a misrepresentation. Toilets have been inspected by the district official.”

Teachers using vulgar language

“No complaints relating to teachers using vulgar language were reported to the principal. The principal continuously reminds teachers about the code of conduct to promote professional work ethics and adhering to it.”

Conduct

“As the department, we continue to strongly condemn any acts of misconduct by anyone, which seeks to undermine the dignity of our learning institutions.

“We always urge all our learners to refrain from acts of misconduct in schools and implore parents to assist the Department in instilling learner discipline in and outside the school environment,” he said.