Teaching ground to a halt at Tantyi Primary School for the whole of yesterday as teachers downed tools in protest against the principal.
The school’s principal Christopher Christian told Grocott’s Mail that the teachers believe his leadership style is outdated.
Teaching ground to a halt at Tantyi Primary School for the whole of yesterday as teachers downed tools in protest against the principal.
The school’s principal Christopher Christian told Grocott’s Mail that the teachers believe his leadership style is outdated.
“They say I’m the one controlling the SGB [School Governing Body] and accusing me of calling yesterday’s parents’ meeting,” he said.
Christian said that the meeting had been called by the SGB and that he had attended to give evidence of what has been taking place at the school.
He said the problems started with the selection process of a substitute teacher which was advertised in local community media last month.
According to Christian, the school’s teachers prevented the interviews for the shortlisted candidates from taking place, which were scheduled shortly after the shortlisting process was concluded on 28 January.
Christian has since received a letter from one of the candidates enquiring about the cancellation of the interviews and a scheduled future date.
“One candidate is from the Tantyi community and the educators have personal problems with the candidate,” he said.
He added that only the SGB can recommend appointments and that the School Management Team can support such a move but not initiate it.
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) wrote to the district office of the Department of Education on 3 February asking it to intervene in the selection process as it believes that the process is being “seriously violated”.
Sadtu requested that the interviews be cancelled. According to Christian, educators claimed that he preempted the outcome of the interviews but Sadtu has not produced any evidence to this effect.
When Grocott’s Mail visited the school in the early afternoon the last group of learners was leaving while teachers, Sadtu and officials from the education department were locked in a meeting in the staff room.
However, the educators who were available refused to speak to Grocott’s Mail. SGB vice-chairperson Gideon Mapapu said the problem at the school was that teachers want to run the school themselves and are undermining the SGB.
He said that some teachers resigned from the SGB due to differences between them and the SGB members and that while he called the Wednesday parents’ meeting he did not invite the teachers deliberately.
“I invited Sadtu and the District Director [Thamsanqa Fetsha] and none of them came,” he added. Mapapu also said they want their children to be taught so that they do not end up illiterate as their parents.
“It worries us because it’s not the first time they [educators]are neglecting our children,” he added. Comments from the education department could not be obtained at the time of going to print.
