Education
(1) Whether she can provide details on the sudden resignation of the Principal of the Greenfields Girls’ Primary School; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether she can provide details of the complaint against the Principal of the Greenfields Girls’ Primary School that the Principal is alleged to have acted inappropriately towards girls; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether she can provide clarity on how this educator was vetted before being employed by her Department; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) whether she can provide clarity on how this educator was vetted and cleared before being appointed as the Principal of the Greenfields Girls’ Primary School; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(5) whether the South African Council of Educators (SACE) has been notified of the allegations to prevent this educator from having access to vulnerable learners, particularly young girls, in the future; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(6) whether her Department will (i) pursue and continue to investigate the complaint even though the Principal has resigned and (ii) report the matter to the relevant authorities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details and time frames?
(1) A parent wrote to the School Governing Body on 15 December 2020 to register her unhappiness about specific aspects of the principal’s management of the school and learners. No formal complaints were lodged with the WCED by the parent or the SGB.
The principal informed the Circuit manager of his intention to resign shortly after the start of the 2021 school year.
(2) The complainant (parent) wrote a letter to the SGB chairperson raising various concerns about the principal, including the dismissal of a teacher at the school, transformation, the treatment of parents, and the manner in which he had addressed her daughter at school. The complainant indicated that the terms used to address her daughter were inappropriate.
(3) Vetting procedures by the WCED were done in line with normal appointment practices. The vetting was done by Recruitment and Selection and thus includes:
• MIE – academic qualifications check and
• SAPS – criminal records.
(4) See reply to (3) above.
(5) There was no official complaint to the department. No formal charges have been brought to the attention of the WCED.
(6) (i) No, the principal is no longer in the employ of the WCED.
(ii) See reply to (6)(ii) above.
