Protection order against principal turned down
Teachers sit under tree for months
Five months after seeking protection from their principal Siyabonga Buthelezi, the case of 10 Freedom Park Secondary School teachers has yet to be solved.
One of the teachers said yesterday they were frustrated and felt humiliated at the treatment they had received from the school.
“You can just imagine leaving your home every morning saying you are going to work, only to spend your day under a tree. As a result we feel redundant as all we do is sit under a tree. This matter has been dragging for a long time and is affecting us psychologically and emotionally,” the teacher said.
Gauteng education spokesman Steve Mabona said the department was aware of the matter.
“It must be noted that the teachers will only be reintegrated into the school after the investigative report has been tabled to the school governing body (SGB) ... probably after the [winter holidays],” Mabona said.
In February, six of the teachers and an administration clerk applied for protection orders against Buthelezi after threatening messages and pictures of guns and bullets allegedly directed at them were posted on the SGB WhatsApp group.
But yesterday, four of the protection order applications were turned down by the Kliptown Magistrate’s Court.
Buthelezi refused to comment on the matter.
Chairman of the South African Democratic Teachers Union in Eldorado Park, Desmond Luvhengo, said they were waiting for the final report from the department.
Luvhengo said while the union appreciated the work work done by MEC Panyaza Lesufi to resolve the matter, it seemed he was being sabotaged by his subordinates as no work had been done since his visit to the school in March.
“We are concerned about the principal’s behaviour as we have seen a number of teachers resigning from his school,” Luvhengo said.