Frustrated mother of three faces challenges as she tries to place her two daughters back at school after three months in hiding.
Fiona Guss (44) from Katlehong is picking up pieces following the recent arrest of her ex-boyfriend, who caused the family to flee their home in fear amid abuse allegations.
She reported three separate cases and obtained a restraining order against her ex, whom she described as a known criminal.
However, police struggled to arrest him as they could not locate him and he was no longer attending his court cases until early this month (May 2022).
She said now that he has been arrested, her priority is to return her three children to school, more so her two daughters both aged 18. The two were doing their final year in high school when things started falling apart.
According to Guss, her children stopped attending classes after they fled home to live at a shelter for safety purposes.
This has disturbed her children’s education and their well-being as they could not write their first term exams.
She added, “It stresses them because it has been three months since they attended school. One of my daughters is doing technical matric and she has lost so much time on her studies.
“It got to a point where my daughter fainted and had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, on April 23. The doctor said it was because of stress and her blood pressure was very low,” Guss explained.
Guss told Kathorus MAIL that she tried looking for other schools, unfortunately, she could not find schools that had all eight subjects her children were doing.
She then attempted to take the children back to Sijabulile High School and Katlehong Technical High School but the two schools did not welcome them back, citing that matric learners have already been registered for exams.
The Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department is concerned about the situation as they always encourage parents to ensure that learners of school-going age are at school at all times.
“Consequently, we have engaged with the districts where these two above mentioned schools fall under and they advised that the parents need to visit their districts for the learners’ placement as soon as possible, as time wasted has a negative impact on the final results.
Mabona further said Guss can also visit the nearest district from where she stays for assistance.
“We plead with parents not to let their differences hinder their children’s access to education,” said Mabona.
Guss’ alleged abusive ex-partner was arrested by the EMPD officials, at Ramokonopi Section, Katlehong, on May 6.
