Parents staged a protest at Homevale High School in Kimberley this week to air their grievances about the shortage of teachers.
PARENTS staged a protest at Homevale High School in Kimberley this week to air their grievances about the shortage of teachers.
A parent at the protest claimed that Grade 10 pupils were expected to write Life Orientation tests while the teacher was “always absent”.
“Pupils are supposed to teach themselves. There is also no Maths teacher and no school principal.”
Further complaints were made regarding there being no Grade 12 Science teacher at Emmanuel High School.
“This will be disastrous, where the pass mark may be affected.”
Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said yesterday that schooling was continuing as normal at Homevale High School and Emmanuel Intermediate School.
“Our district office intervened to attend to the complaints of parents,” said Van der Merwe.
He added that two additional educators were appointed at Homevale High School on Tuesday.
“We can confirm that pupils will be supported so that their academic performance is not adversely affected. Their schoolwork is on par and the department has put in place mechanisms for pupils and educators to complete school-based assessments within re-adjusted time frames based on the specific circumstances they are faced with.”
He explained that the absenteeism of educators was “not a norm” at these schools.
“The individuals mentioned are on leave due to personal matters.”
