Angry PE parents shut down schools

Disgruntled parents from the northern areas of Port Elizabeth shut down two schools in the area on Thursday.

The protest action comes after the Department of Education announced that 98 teachers were appointed to fill vacancies in the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage area.

They are demanding the Education Department to fill vacant posts and supplying teachers for special needs learners.

Parents also want non-educational staff members for the schools and that the section 20 schools are converted to section 21 schools.

Several interventions have been put in place by the department over the past two weeks, but a concerned parent, Chief Khoisan SA, says the appointed teachers are not enough.

“We want all the schools in the northern areas, who have asked for teachers, they must get all the teachers that they want. We are closing all the schools that are opened. In the meeting it was said that all the schools in the northern areas must be closed until the four demands are met,” says Khoisan.

Pupils of Astra Primary and Wesvile High schools were sent home as the parents protested outside their schools.

Access roads to the schools were blocked off with burning tyres.
Parents are adamant to keep all fifty three schools in the area closed, until the department responds to their demands.

Teachers and principals at the affected schools say they have been instructed not to speak to the media. The learners that were chased away from their schools on Thursday say they are worried about their future.

“We come here today and the people are fighting in front of our school, which is wrong, we want education. How are we going to go forward if there is no education; and the people come burn tyres in front of our school, they want to keep us away from our school. I want education,” says one learner.

Spokesperson for the department Malibongwe Mtima says the 98 teachers appointed at the schools are part of a larger number.

He says the recruitment process has been disturbed, but it continues.

“The process started very well, unfortunately after scrutinising the submissions made by the principals, we realised that not all the applicants were qualified for the posts; hence we had to restart the process afresh leading to the appointment of the 98 educators instead of the 142. We are still recruiting to ensure that all the 142 posts are filled not only the 98,” says Mtima.

ANC spokesperson, Zizi Kodwa has urged parents to take their children back to school while the issues are being resolved.

“It's almost like a second month now, since the schools were reopened, and I think they are really destroying the future of their children. We are really appealing to them that on Wednesday and Thursday, they must allow schools to operate normally, whilst we are attending to their issues,” says Kodwa.

The parents of the northern areas have vowed on several occasions to keep the schools closed until their demands are met.