Gonubie case to be dealt by regional office

A DISPUTE by parents against Gonubie Primary over its newly elected school governing body (SGB) has been lodged with the Eastern Cape education department.

Provincial education department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said the dispute was reported to the Zwelitsha head office.

“The dispute is premised on the announcement made by departmental officials postponing elections on the day preceding the election day, an alleged racist smear campaign through an e-mail circulated to parents, failure of the electoral officer to deal effectively with the dispute lodged on the election day, and actions taken to resolve the dispute,” said the spokesman.

Pulumani said the department had put processes in motion to resolve the matter. He said a team from the head office had met with affected parents.

The team also met district officials and the electoral officer to gather information.

“Based on the information gathered, a recommendation aimed at resolving the dispute has been forwarded to the head of department [acting superintendent-general Mthunywa Ngonzo] for his decision.

“Such a decision will be communicated to the school as a matter of urgency,” said Pulumani.

This comes after more than 5 600 public schools across the province were required to elect new SGBS last month as part of the legislation.

They were among thousands of schools in the country which elected new SGBS.

The newly-elected SGB at Gonubie Primary formed part of a court application of an East London mother, who took the department and the school to court last month.

Ayanda Duma, whose two children attend Gonubie Primary, filed papers to the Equality Court to oppose the new SGB and adoption of the language policy at the school.

This followed a spat between black and white parents at the school over the issue of the newlyelected SGB and adoption of the language policy.

A week after the Daily Dispatch reported on the matter, Ngonzo promised to intervene and assembled a team led by governance chief director Nosipho Skenjana to investigate the claims. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za