School protests in support of former principal
CHAOS erupted in Mila Street in Nyanga as angry parents, pupils and residence took part in a protest outside Mvula Primary School in support of its former principal.
The protesters, who were also joined by the school governing body (SGB), are calling for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to allow the retired principal, who is the founder of the school, to remain in charge as a caretaker principal and receive a pension for the 27 years she has been working at the school.
SGB chairperson Elliot Mbuzana said the sector manager and director kept evading them and never informed them what was going to happen.
“We want answers to our demands, we have been trying to meet with the sector manager. We also want the principal to be given a dignified farewell,” Mbuzana said.
The governing body won’t accept the offer from the department to give the principal a pension fund from 2012 to this year, as she has been a principal since 1985, which is the year she built the school.
The former principal, Florence Mdlamtshe, built the previously independent school. She saw how children were struggling in her community and helped by building the fee-free school.
“Through the help of the community, Western Cape Council of Churches and private donors, on whose doors I knocked, I was able to build the school and bring furniture and all that was needed.
“WCED only assisted with textbooks, which are not enough, and few other things. The department took my resources as if I was donating them,” Mdlamtshe said.
The 65-year-old burst into tears when she said that last September and October she was not paid and her insurance policies were cancelled.
“I am willing to go, but I won’t survive with the money they want to give me. I have been disrespected and treated unfairly by WCED. I also want the R218 000 investment money that was taken; we raised that money to support the school and the teachers. The parents and SGB want me to still help out even when I have retired and I don’t mind, because my heart is still here at this school.”
Department spokesperson Paddy Attwell said: “We can confirm that protesters disrupted schooling at Mvula Primary (yesterday) in support of the former principal. The school was previously a private school. It applied to become a public school about five years ago.
“Members of the Government Employees Pension Fund receive a pension based on the number of years of employment as a public servant. The former principal joined the public service about five years ago, when the school became a public school. The school was previously a private school.”
Attwell said a trust managed the funds of the school when it was private school.
“The trust disbursed all funds owing to interested parties when the school converted to a public school, in terms of an agreement signed with the department and relevant parties in 2012.
“The school also ceded assets to the department at the time, in line with normal procedure on converting private schools to public schools. The WCED is mainly concerned about the pupils. The department will consider its options if the protesters continue to disrupt their education.”
I AM WILLING TO GO, BUT I WON’T SURVIVE WITH THE MONEY THEY WANT TO GIVE ME. I HAVE BEEN DISRESPECTED AND TREATED UNFAIRLY