Education Department’s orders to relocate ignored
Some Roodepoort teachers and pupils report at closed school
DESPITE an order to close Roodepoort Primary School, some of the teachers and pupils pitched up at the premises yesterday.
While some of them were bused to Lufhereng Primary School in neighbouring Dobsonville, Soweto, others opted to remain at the school and continue their lessons there.
They were joined by several teachers.
At the weekend, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi had issued an order for the indefinite closure of Roodepoort Primary, following disruptions and claims of racism.
He instructed parents to send their children to the new school and told teachers to also report there.
The departmental spokeswoman, Phumla Sekhonyane, said district officials had gone to Roodepoort Primary yesterday to give the teachers notice to report to Lufhereng.
“All employees of the department were given letters of where to report to tomorrow. When you reassign staff, you have to inform them in writing, and that is what happened at the school,” Sekhonyane said.
Although some parents had defied the department’s orders yesterday, others complied.
Hundreds of pupils were bused from various pick-up points in and around Roodepoort and Dobsonville to their new school.
Scores of them, together with their parents, began cheering as buses arrived at the premises around 7.15am to take them to Lufhereng.
Their young faces lit up and they shuffled in groups to the front of the queue in a bid to secure a coveted spot.
Once inside, they waved and blew kisses to their parents, who stood in the crowd that congregated outside the school.
One of the parents, Trevor Luku, said they were unsettled because they didn’t know how the relocation would affect them and their children.
He said the move had so far inconvenienced many families because they were forced to make after-school transport arrangements.
“We have a school here where children are comfortable and now their lives are going to be disrupted,” Luku said.
In spite of the commotion and large crowds, police and security guards were present to ensure the relocation of pupils went smoothly.
The school has been marred by several protests in recent months.
Last week, a physical altercation ensued between parents and an official from the Education Department on the school grounds, in full view of the young pupils.
A few months ago, the police fired rubber bullets during one of the violent protests as parents demanded that a coloured principal be appointed to replace principal Nomathemba Molefe.
The closure of Roodepoort Primary was the third one in just five months.
Sekhonyane said the department hoped all teachers would report to Lufhereng today.
“We urge all parents to move their children to alternative schools because Roodepoort Primary will be completely shut down.”
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