The parents of former Grade 12 learners at Sidlamafa Secondary School at KaMhlushwa say they are relieved that their children were finally given their matric results statements.
According to the parents, the principal had refused to release the results to some of the learners, citing that they owed the school money for a camp.
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“When we went to collect the results on Friday January 19, we were told we had to pay about R2 500 which our children allegedly owed to the school. The principal told us the learners had to pay that amount for a school camp and to our surprise, there wasn’t any school camp,” said Bheki Mona, one of the parents.
Mona said although they did not pay the money allegedly owed to the school, the result statements were released on Wednesday January 24.
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“We gathered together as the parents and made enough noise to draw the attention of other organisations, including the Mpumalanga Department of Education (DoE) and when we went back yesterday, we were given the statements. What baffles me about this whole situation is that our children were not camping at all, they just took extra classes that lasted until late and were given food from the department only during break. The principal also mentioned that the money was to pay the teachers for the extra classes, which is more appalling because they get paid for their jobs,” he added.
The Mpumalanga DoE could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.
