DURBAN - MORE teachers have been deployed to Quarry Heights Primary School in Newlands East, after parents shut down the school earlier this week.
Parents claimed some classes had been without teachers since February.
Khethukuthula Jaca, a member of the school governing body (SGB), said shutting down the school had been the last resort for parents as they had previously used all channels of communication regarding the matter.
“We had written letters to the department and requested meetings with the school’s inspector. They kept on saying there will be meetings, until the inspector started to ignore our calls,” he said.
“We had spoken to the principal and it was suggested pupils in the classes without teachers should be divided among the classes with teachers. We did not see that as a safe option considering the pandemic; classes were already divided to have a minimal number (of pupils) per class … “
Jaca said after the school was shut down on Monday, “the school called an urgent meeting which was attended by the school’s management team, the inspector, and an official from the department”.
He said the issue had been resolved but the SGB was worried about the pupils who had missed three months of school work, and had been in classes without supervision. “It is not safe for our children to be in a classroom that has no teacher; who will ensure that the Covid-19 regulations are being followed?” he said.
Provincial Department of Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said: “The matter has been sorted; they (the school) now have educators.”
THE MERCURY