Parents angry over language ‘transfers’
A SHORTAGE of teachers at the English-speaking Dikgatlong High School has resulted in a stand-off between parents of pupils at the school, which has been forced to shut down, and the nearby Afrikaans-speaking Delportshoop Combined School.
Angry parents and pupils from the two schools have been at each other’s throats after 107 learners from the Dikgatlong High School were sent by the Department of Education to attend classes at Delportshoop. The 107 pupils are Afrikaans-speaking and, according to members of the School Governing Body (SGB) and parents, the school has been without Afrikaans teachers for the past eight years.
“The department decided a few years ago to refer the Afrikaans-speaking pupils to Delportshoop. Over the years, however, the number of pupils has increased and this has resulted in conflict,” one of the parents said.
The additional learners has resulted in class sizes at Delpoortshoop swelling to as many as 42 learners in one class, while at the Dikgatlong High School there are six empty classrooms.
The Delportshoop Combined School has a capacity of 500, although according to parents, there are more than 800 pupils currently at the school.
Tension between pupils and parents from the two schools boiled over recently after a pupil from Dikgatlong set tyres alight at the Delportshoop Combined School, resulting in classes at the school being suspended.
Parents from Dikgatlong pointed out yesterday, however, that their children had not attended school since the start of the academic year and they vowed that no schooling would take place until the matter had been resolved by the Department of Education.
“Our children’s books are empty. Pupils in Grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 are affected and our matriculants are headed for failure if this situation continues,” the angry parents said yesterday.
Presenting their side of the story, a parent from the Delportshoop Combined School said yesterday that they were not opposed to the pupils from Dikgatlong attending their school, but they pointed out that the school was bursting at the seams already.
“The classes at Delportshoop can only accommodate those who are already attending the school. If more children come from Dikgatlong, there will be about 42 pupils in a class. That is not fair on any of the children and definitely not fair on the teachers. Sending the children to Delportshoop is not a solution to the shortage of teachers at Dikgatlong,” they said.
A parent who has children at both schools, Ellen Visser, said she was feeling the pressure from both sides. “I have two children at the Dikgatlong High School and my other two are at the Delportshoop Combined School.
“The eldest is in matric at Dikgatlong and with the suspension of classes, the children are all fighting with each other. The two at Delportshoop are angry with the learners from Dikgatlong, accusing them of vandalising the school. I had to explain to them that their siblings at Dikgatlong are under tremendous pressure because there are no Afrikaans teachers at the school.
“The principal of the Dikgatlong High School said during a meeting that the children should attend school in Delportshoop. We explained to him that there was no space at the school. There was also no communication between the principals of the two schools regarding the accommodation of the 107 Afrikaans-speaking pupils.”
Parents from Dikgatlong said they had been informed that Delportshoop would be supplied with additional classrooms to accommodate their children.
“We had a meeting with the SBG members from both schools and the principals, as well as officials from the department on Friday last week.
“It was decided at the meeting that the Afrikaans-speaking children should attend school in Delportshoop. However, when the pupils went to the school, the parents from the Delportshoop Combined School chased the learners from Dikgatlong away, resulting in the feud between the parents.
“The gates of Dikgatlong will remain closed until a resolution has been found to this problem,” said one parent, Gloria Francis.
A meeting between SGB members and officials from FEUDING: Parents pointing fingers at each other during yesterday’s meeting. the Department of Education yesterday ended in a stalemate, with parents from both schools shouting and pointing fingers at each other as they waited for the outcome of the meeting.
A handful tried to persuade the two groups that the problem was actually with the department and not with the schools.
“This matter should be resolved by the department. The parents from Dikgatlong do not want to send their children to Delportshoop because it means additional costs for them. The parents from Delportshoop also do not want these pupils because the school is already overcrowded and the resources exhausted.
“Both groups want the same thing but the real problem is the shortage of teachers at Dikgatlong, which is the department’s problem.
“Dikgatlong is in need of eight Afrikaans teachers but the department has indicated that it does not have the money to pay for the additional teachers. This situation has been a problem for many years and has never been addressed.
“There are empty classrooms at the school which can be used if additional teachers are appointed. In this way, the overcrowding at Delportshoop can be avoided and all learners can complete their schooling at their respective schools.”
Spokesperson for the department, Geoffrey van der Merwe, admitted that the issued had been dragging on for several years.
“For the past seven years, the Department of Education has transferred the Grade 12 pupils from the Dikgatlong High School to the Delportshoop Combined School. The department has been struggling to recruit Afrikaans teachers to this area.
“This year there were 22 Afrikaans-speaking Grade 12 pupils who needed to be transferred from Dikgatlong. Due to the low number of Afrikaans-speaking pupils at Dikgatlong, it was not viable for the department to appoint Afrikaans teachers for these pupils
“Therefore, we made the decision to accommodate all Afrikaans-speaking pupils at Delportshoop, while the English-speaking pupils would be taught at Dikgatlong High School.”
He added that the demands from the Delportshoop Combined School community related not only to the appointment of additional teachers, but also a security fence and the upgrading of the ablution facilities.
“We are busy engaging Provincial Treasury regarding funding for the appointment of additional teachers, not only at this school, but also at other schools where the need exists. Regarding the fence and ablution facilities, this needs to go out on tender due to the magnitude of work to be done.
“We urge the school community to work with us as we seek to attend to their demands and afford their children access to education,” said Van der Merwe.