Pretoria - The Gauteng Department of Education has approached the South Gauteng High Court for an interdict against parents who were protesting at the Roodepoort Primary School.
The interdict will prevent parents from protesting, threatening and refusing the principal and educators of Roodepoort Primary school to enter the school premises.
Parents at the school were reportedly unhappy with the appointment of a black principal and preferred a “Coloured” principal and educators.
The parents have been accused of intimidating black educators and have told them that “their safety at the school is not guaranteed”.
“Over the last three months, they have been voicing their concerns by protesting and barring some teachers and the principal from entering the school, therefore disrupting learning and teaching,” Gauteng Department of Education Spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane said.
She said the group of parents have lodged complaints against the principal of the school.
The allegations were investigated and found not to be true, Sekhonyane said.
Provincial Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has condemned the behaviour of the parents.
“We will not tolerate racism in any of our schools in Gauteng,” MEC Lesufi said.
He said the behaviour of the parents was unnecessary and had a negative impact on learners as they were losing valuable classroom time.
The department will continue to monitor the situation so that learning and teaching continues without any disruptions.
Condolences to family of learner
Meanwhile, the department has conveyed its condolences to the family of a learner who passed away at Eden Park Secondary School.
According to media reports, a pupil at Eden Park Secondary School died after a classmate pulled a chair out from under her.
Sekhonyane said the department cannot confirm what led to the death of the learner and has launched an independent investigation into the matter.
“The Gauteng Department of Education is deeply saddened by the passing away of a learner on Monday, 16 February 2015, at Eden Park Secondary School,” she said.
The independent investigators visited the District Office on Wednesday and will visit the school on Thursday for further investigations.
“The department has sent its psychosocial team to the school to provide trauma debriefing to learners and educators affected by this unfortunate incident. Officials from the department will visit the family of the deceased learner,” Sekhonyane said. – SAnews.gov.za
