Parents close school over lack of staff

CONCERNS are mounting over northern areas schools in Port Elizabeth embarking on a massive shutdown as Astra Primary School remains closed.

The Bloemendal school was closed by parents on Friday due to an ongoing teacher shortage.

In support of Astra Primary, teachers and parents from other schools will picket along Stanford Road.

Astra Primary parents have closed the school until the Eastern Cape education department provides more teachers as school governing body (SGB) funds have dried up.

The school had been paying salaries for 10 teachers and three non-teaching staff members.

Schools in the city’s northern areas shut for three weeks earlier this year for a range of issues.

Northern Areas Education Forum secretary Richard Draai said the issues had not yet been resolved and many schools faced the same fate as Astra Primary should their SGB funds be depleted.

“I am extremely worried because this problem exists at nearly all our schools. The only difference is that now Astra has run out of funds to pay all their teachers, but there are many other schools where the money is running out.”

Draai said Astra Primary parents displayed their militancy last week by burning tyres next to the school.

“I am deeply concerned about what they may do next. They may even decide to forcibly close other schools in their area.”

He said principals and SGB members met on Thursday to discuss Astra Primary and decided to hold a picket to show their support.

The picket will take place today and tomorrow from 7am until 7.45am at points near the schools along Stanford Road.

“I also wrote letters requesting assistance from the mayor, the Presidency and the minister of education,” he said.

Provincial education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said they were attending to six teachers required by the school.

He said the principal was provided with recruitment forms to fill one vacant deputy principal post and one vacant head of department post.

“There is one educator on incapacity leave and another on maternity leave. The district has applied for substitutes and the department is considering this. We are implementing contingency plans to ensure this protest does not spread to other schools. But we do not see why they were paying 10 teachers when they only require six.”