Education
The acting principal of the Hout Bay High School, whose name has been furnished to his Department, has been recalled after three days in the position: (1) On what grounds was he recalled; (2) whether he was subjected to a hearing before being recalled; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
2. My department has informed me of the following:
(1) The principal post at Hout Bay High School became vacant on 31 January 2022 when the previous principal took early retirement. A retired principal was appointed as curator principal from 1 February to 30 September 2022. Thereafter, the Department struggled to find a suitable candidate to act as curator principal for Term 4.
Concerns were raised regarding the lack of senior management experience at the school. However, given the immediate need to appoint someone to manage the school, the School Governing Body (SGB) then agreed that the two departmental heads would each act as principal in Term 4 of 2022 and Term 1 of 2023, respectively.
During the October 2022 school holidays, a letter was sent to the Ministry of Education raising various concerns about the appointment of the departmental head and the current challenges experienced at the school.
After due consideration, the Department, SGB and School Management Team (SMT) unanimously reconsidered their previous decision and supported the option to find an alternative curator principal that had the necessary experience in running the school. The stability of the school, as well as the possible impact on the heads of department’s management at the school during the critical period of National Senior Certificate Examinations was taken into consideration.
The previous ex-principal (who had retired in January 2022), was able to accommodate the request and was appointed.
The departmental head wrote to the Department indicating his support for this decision.
(2) There was no need for a hearing or an investigation. The decision to recall the departmental head was made in conjunction with the SMT, SGB and district office. The Department is in the process of finalising the appointment of a permanent principal.
