Durban - FRUSTRATED parents of pupils at a KwaZulu-Natal school expressed anger yesterday at the Education Department after being without a school principal for more than a year.
Parents from the school in Folweni area, near Isipingo, alleged that the principal had been using school property and funds for personal needs and stopped coming to the school as soon as the allegations surfaced.
They added that the school has not had a principal for a whole year and was being run by its heads of department. The department provided a principal, but that the proposed principal had pending cases, which led to the parents and the school governing body rejecting the candidate.
The parents said they staged a protest last year to express their anger at the situation, but to no avail.
Mabuyi Mzimela, a parent at the school, said what annoyed her the most was that the case against the principal showed no progress.
“The department of education is not dealing with the matter,” she said.
Mzimela said they tried their best to make sure the school was run properly, and the situation flew in the face of their efforts. They wanted a new, untainted principal appointed.
Thembelani Ngubane, chairperson of the school’s governing body, said they had reported to education authorities in 2017 that monies and school finances were not being handled properly. He said they had informed district managers about the situation, but no action was taken.
“We have no principal, but two acting heads of department at the school,” he said.
Ngubane said the principal was still getting her salary. “They wanted to replace the principal with another who was also facing charges. The problem is that the department doesn’t fire people but moves them around. We want to start the year off on a good note. What is important in the end is that learning happens at the school,” he said.
Education Department spokesperson Scelo Khuzwayo said they were aware of the matter and that the principal had not been suspended, but was moved to another school in KwaMakhutha.
“The principal did not have a good working relationship with the school governing body, which is why she was moved,” he said.