Principal, teachers ‘removed’

ASOUTH Durban school principal and two of his teachers have been “removed” from a school’s premises in the wake of allegations of drunkenness and impropriety during a recent excursion to the Midlands.

It was reported that the three allegedly got drunk while on a Grade 7 excursion to Howick last Friday and en route back to Durban the principal made advances to some of the female pupils.

Ward councillor Sunil Brijmohan yesterday told The Mercury that several cases had been opened with police and that following meetings with the local circuit manager, all three had been removed from the school at the request of the parent body.

Education

“As a community leader, my priority is ensuring the other 1 200 children at the school can continue with their education, uninterrupted,” Brijmohan said, “And that is happening”.

He said parents and the community were upset and understandably so: “These children’s rights have been violated.”

But Brijmohan also said the matter was being addressed and the school’s governing body and parent body were actively involved. He said the children involved had received counselling.

The chair of the school governing body declined to comment, as did a parent body representative.

A letter from the circuit manager was yesterday circulating on social media and said the matter was under investigation: “The safety of our learners is our priority, therefore we advise caution when dealing with sensitive issues.”

Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi yesterday confirmed to The Mercury that neither the school principal nor the two teachers in question were at school at the moment.

They had not been officially suspended, Mahlambi said, but on Wednesday parents and members of the community gathered outside the school gates and the two teachers were escorted out by police.

The principal was not there at the time, Mahlambi said, but he had not reported to school since.

Mahlambi said district officials were at the school on Wednesday.

They had ensured that teaching and learning had gone back to normal and had also begun their investigations into the matter.

Mahlambi said the matter was being taken very seriously by the department.

“If the allegations are found to be true, we won’t hesitate to proceed with disciplinary action,” he said.

“We don’t want teachers like that in our system. What kind of role models are they for young, impressionable children?”

Mahlambi said the department was aware that the matter had been reported to police, however yesterday police were unable to comment on what charges had been laid.