UPDATE: Umhlali Prep stands firm
Jonathan de Wet rubbished claims that the school had issued a letter to parents advising them to prepare to stand in line for next year's placements.
Rumours that Umhali Preparatory School is surrendering to the ANC Youth League’s demands and doing away with its long-standing waiting list has sent many current and prospective parents into a frenzy.
The school’s governing body chairperson Jonathan de Wet categorically denied these allegations.
“The school’s method of accepting pupils remains unchanged,” he said.
He rubbished claims that the school had issued a letter to parents advising them to prepare to stand in line for next year’s placements. Parents told the Courier that there had been talking of prospective parents planning to camp out at the school to ensure they were at the front of the line.
Responding to the league’s threats, De Wet said they will not be drawn into a war of words.
Also read: Umhlali Prep hits back after ANCYL accuses school of racism
“Suffice it to say that their allegations of racism and exclusion of blacks from our school is utter nonsense and not based on any facts – which is no doubt why no evidence for the scurrilous and defamatory assertions is provided. We are referring the “Press Statement” issued by the ANCYL to the KZN Department of Education.”
The ANCYL in the Greater KwaDukuza Region accused the 100-year-old North Coast school of using their waiting list as an excuse to exclude black pupils and for operating with apartheid ideals.
The League’s secretary Musa Zondi said he observed the ‘racism’ first hand when he pretended to enrol his daughter at the school but was turned away.
The League has since threatened to shut down the school if it did not change the way it operates and remove all policies that exclude black children, namely the waiting list.
Being the only government primary school on the Dolphin Coast, Umhali Preparatory has reached its capacity and turns away dozens of applicants every year.
Currently, most parents add their children names to the school’s waiting list while they are infants.
“Our boy was a month old when we put his name on the list. He is now three years old and he still has three more years for him to start school. Mind you, his dad is apart of the school staff, but our child is on the list like everyone else,” said parent Dionne Mbofana.
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