New Age2.png Lens school in race row Nondumiso Zwane, The New Age, Johannesburg, 26 January 2016 Eight teachers who forced the shutdown of a Lenasia school yesterday have been accused of holding the future of pupils at ransom. According to one of the parents, certain black teachers have not been performing their duties since schools opened, demanding that the Willowmead Secondary School principal, who is of Indian origin, be removed. According to the department, the teachers are accusing the school of racism, something parents have dismissed as untrue. "It cannot be right that teachers withdraw their labour and force children to join them in a labour dispute with the principal," an angry parent said. There was chaos yesterday when pupils joined striking teachers in the protests, with some pupils seen carrying placards that read: "The principal must fall." Faith Tsotetsi, who is also a member of the school governing body (SGB), claimed teachers invited their South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) colleagues to join in the strike. "It was this group that disrupted lessons and forced the school to be closed. "These teachers just do not want management in and they are pulling out the race card. "There is no racism at this school. They are pushing their own agenda with their union," Tsotetsi said. SADTU was surprised when questioned were levelled about teachers said to be members of the union. "I have not been informed of such but will look into it," Gauteng Sadtu chairperson Eddie Kekana said. He promised to investigate the matter while the department opted to take more stern action to defuse the impasse. Gauteng department of education acting spokesperson Oupa Bodibe said they would today serve the principal with a 14-day suspension while they investigate the racism allegations raised by some of the teachers. Bodibe said they viewed the matter in a serious light and would not ignore the allegations. "A preliminary investigation has been concluded. "This was reported to the district by some school teachers. "Should any wrongdoing be proven, we will not hesitate to act," Bodibe said. He said now that the principal would be suspended, the district would appoint an administrator to act as a caretaker principal. "We would like to reiterate our position on the matter that racism has no place in our schools and we are to root it out should it surface," he said. Tsotetsi expressed disappointment at the decision taken by the department. "As parents, we have take a position that these eight teachers are troublemakers and we do not want them here. "We have also decided to ensure this school will remain closed until they are removed from here," she said. Bodibe said the investigations would also include allegations of financial mismanagement. [email protected] From: http://tnaepaper.co.za/DRIVE/main%20edition/26012016/epaperpdf/1.pdf -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
