NO SINGLE MOMS PLEASE

School’s prying over kid’s dad rattles mother

man chose not to play a role in his child’s life.

“This was an invasion of my privacy and has opened wounds. This seemed like the kind of school that could provide us with extra support but the door was just shut in my face.”

The department told the Saturday Star yesterday that it was aware of the allegations levelled against the school and had launched a probe into the school’s policies.

“All schools are discouraged from requiring information that might be perceived as unjust, discriminatory or not within the admissions criteria.

“The said parent will be assisted to apply for the necessary placement at Saxonwold. In the event a school is found to have violated admissions criteria, necessary intervention will be implemented.”

However, Saxonwold Primary School principal Marion Wheater denied the school had such a policy, and said it was unlikely that its administrative staff would ask a parent such questions.

“I’m sorry she didn’t bring the application in person. We could have sorted it out in the office. I wish we could have spoken face to face. No one is being discriminated against.

“We would never want to exclude any kind of parent. She is welcome to come in and see me if she likes,” said Wheater.

She explained the school would only ask for an identity number of the father, emergency contact details and a copy of an unabridged birth certificate.

However, in special cases where a father was not involved in the child’s life, the school would not insist upon such information, she said.

Demichelle Petherbridge, an attorney at the Equal Education Law Centre, said school governing bodies, while being able to deter mine admission policies, had to ensure they were in accordance with the constitution and applicable law.

“National policy is also very clear about the documents parents need to submit when applying to have a child admitted in a school.

“These include an application form, proof of immunisation, an official birth certificate and, in certain cases, a transfer card when learners change schools,” she said.

“National laws do not place any further obligations on single parents to provide additional documents, particularly those indicating sensitive information such as the whereabouts of a former partner who is a parent of a child, or reasons why parents may have separated.

“Rather, the policy provides that parents are meant to be given whatever assistance they may require to complete the application form.

“The additional burden of providing this kind of sensitive information is not only discriminatory towards single parents but unlawful,” said Petherbridge.