“The pupils are passing with a one percent average and the matric class was without a Life Science teacher for five months.”
SCHOOL governing body (SGB) members of Homevale High School demanded to see the Premier after they said they were shut out by the Department of Education regarding a list of grievances, including placing the school under administration.
SGB chairperson, Sonja Fawyers, stated that no interventions were being implemented to improve the poor academic performance of the school and the matric results.
“The pupils are passing with a one percent average and the matric class was without a Life Science teacher for five months.
“The school has been functioning without a principal and only has an acting one. We do not agree with the school plan for 2020 and do not want pupils with a history of failure and who abuse drugs to be accepted into the school.”
They stated that the head of ministry at the Department of Education sent them away yesterday.
“We sent in a letter for intervention last week and wanted feedback. We do not want the school to be unprepared when it opens in the new year. The head of ministry, Mr Moremedi, told us that ‘he does not have energy for us’.”
Fawyers added that they were not consulted before educators were appointed at the school.
Spokesperson for the Department of Education Geoffrey van der Merwe said the ministry of education received a letter of demand from the SGB of Homevale High School on November 28.
“The letter was immediately referred to the head of department (HOD) for further processing. We are still waiting for feedback from the HOD on the said matter, as he is still consulting internally on the demands.”
He added that members of the SGB became “very disgruntled and upset” when they visited the head of ministry, Dr Lebongang Moremedi, yesterday and hurled insults at him when he arrived to listen to their concerns.
“During the time when they started to insult him, Moremedi responded by saying that he does not have energy for their insults.”
Van der Merwe indicated that various administrative processes needed to be followed and that it was unrealistic to expect a response within 24 hours.
“We did inform them that we have referred their grievances to administration and are awaiting a report. Once all administration processes are finalised, we will revert back to the SGB to ensure that all systems are in place for the start of the 2020 school academic year.
“We further appeal to the SGB of Homevale High School to work with us as we restore Homevale High School to its former glory.”
