Angry parents want answers
PARENTS and teachers at a Uitenhage special school are furious with the Education Department for its perceived inaction on their grievances against the principal, whom they say is verbally abusive and uses an autocratic style of leadership.
The parents of Mzamomhle Special School in KwaNobuhle sent a memorandum containing their grievances to the Uitenhage district office in September in which they communicated their vote of no confidence in principal Sipho Bodlani.
Bodlani has since been removed from the school after a showdown at the beginning of the term in which parents and pupils locked him out of the school premises.
Pupils, parents and teachers will meet the department at the LoveLife Centre today for an update on their complaint, which dates back to 2010.
The department’s Bhisho head office in December last year following allegations of financial mismanagement, but the department could not report any progress yesterday.
Today’s meeting follows a clash last week in which disgruntled parents and pupils toyi-toyied at the school and locked out department officials, who were responding to their calls.
Parents said they were angry that for months the department had turned a deaf ear to their plight and subjected their children and staff to another year with Bodlani. They say Bodlani had made life at the school “a living hell”.
In the memorandum, parents and teachers tell how Bodlani allegedly swore at teachers and pupils, and got rid of pupils he did not like.
They also say he allegedly made sexual advances towards some women staff members.
Governing body chairman Thembekile Vena said district officials were chased away last week because teachers refused to talk about their grievances in person.
“I am not sure why that is, but when the department comes to address their grievances, they just don’t want to face them,” he said.
A teacher, who would not be named for fear of reprisal, said they were scared to speak out because of possible repercussions.
“[Bodlani] is well connected and if we speak out and identify ourselves, it could come back to bite us,” the teacher said.
Provincial Education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said despite being locked out of the school last week, the department as determined to iron out the differences at the school.
“On receiving the complaint from a group of educators from this school, the department opted to investigate them as a standard procedure.
“Unfortunately, all scheduled interviews with the concerned educators failed as our officials were closed out of the school by an angry mob of educators opposing the start of the process.
“The department is consulting its lawyers with the aim of attending to the matter and sorting it out legally,” he said.