SGB still calls for the suspension of principal
In July, the community mobilised and called for the principal, Ben Ngwenya, to be suspended when they complained about his leadership.
Months later, the community of Tekwane South is still adamant that the principal of Portia Shabangu Secondary School should be suspended. In July, the community mobilised and called for the principal, Ben Ngwenya, to be suspended when they complained about his leadership. They alleged that several materials belonging to the school went missing on his watch.
This included 12 palisades, laptops, copper pipes, and JoJo tanks. A case was opened at KaNyamazane Police Station, but no arrests have been made yet. A police spokesperson, Col Donald Mdhluli, encouraged anyone who has information to come forward. “There are no arrests made as yet and the police call on anyone with information about the incident to call the Crime Stop number on 08600 10111 or send information via the My SAPS app.
All information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous,” he said. A meeting with the circuit manager was scheduled for August, but he did not show up to address the community.
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One of the SGB members who chose to remain anonymous, accused Ngwenya of running the school like a spaza shop. “The principal no longer consults with us whenever a decision needs to be made. We sometimes hear on the streets about things that concern the school. He went as far removing our names at the bank so that we do not get notifications about how the finances of the school are spent. Our children’s fees go into his personal account.
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“Our children are now failing drastically in that school, especially mathematics. We are concerned, because the department is not taking our case seriously as they do not respond to our requests,” she explained. The spokesperson for the provincial Department of Education, Jasper Zwane, said the department viewed the allegations very seriously and as such it has instituted an investigation team to probe the authenticity of the allegations.
