CAPE TOWN - Heathfield High School principal, Wesley Neumann says he won’t mind if the findings of an investigation relating to his dismissal were released for public scrutiny.
Neumann, who listened to parents’ wishes and decided that the school should stay closed during the peak of the first Covid-19 wave, was found guilty of six charges following a disciplinary hearing initiated by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
Parents, staff and the school community are among those who are backing calls to have the charges against him dropped.
Neumann said he wouldn’t have an objection to the release of the report.
“The report needs to be interrogated because of the misrepresentations,” he said.
A friend and supporter of parent lobby group, the Special Action Committee (SAC), William Leith, asked in a letter for access to be granted to the report.
“To honour the demands of transparency and accountability, a full written judgement of Wesley Neumann’s dismissal must now be released to the public for scrutiny. The ‘independent presiding officer’ is obligated to defend the reasoning that informs the judgement,” he said.
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the matter was between the employee and the employer.
“The school community is welcome to request the report from the employee, with whom they have direct contact.
“However, as a department we have always respected the process and the fact that this is an internal disciplinary hearing between employee and employer.
“Despite many false accusations and claims throughout this hearing, we have respected the process and the confidentiality of it, to protect both the employee and employer.
“The process is also not yet complete, as the employee still has the right of appeal,” Hammond said.
SAC spokesperson, Allan Liebenberg, said they had copies of the report.
He said the entire process had been “deliberately” kept out of the public’s eye.
“The SAC and another organisation brought forward and application to have the entire process opened to the public, but the presiding officer denied it.
“From the beginning I’ve had no confidence in this process, it is not a reflection of truth and honesty,” Liebenberg said.
Cape Times