After it has transpired that Princess High School finds itself in a serious financial predicament, the Record spoke to the school governing body (SGB) Chairperson, Thabo Sholemasho on 15 October.
Sholemasho was highly cooperative and forthcoming during the interview with the Record.
“We indeed find ourselves in a most serious and dangerously critical financial situation. But without trying to protect the Department of Education (DoE) I want to state unequivocally that we find ourselves in this trouble mainly because of the non-payment of parents,” an adamant Sholemasho started his explanation.
“Even if we could receive half of the outstanding payments we would be able to breathe again. Obviously there are some reasons for the lack of cooperation, among which are the effects of the economic downturn and the fact that parents prioritise for transport but not school fees,” explained Sholemasho.
Sholemasho said that exemptions from school fees were granted to the letter of the law where justified.
“Even if parents could make just a small commitment each month. Our school fee is R6 500 per year and a commitment of R500 or R600 a month would go a long way,” said Sholemasho.
He confirmed that the rumours regarding the lack of toilet paper, lack of photocopy paper and the eminent sacking of SGB appointed teachers and groundskeepers were also true. He confirmed that the DoE owes the school R4,2 million.
“Our school’s matric pass rate went up from 80 per cent to 84 per cent last year. We were the only school who showed an increase. The SGB did their bit but now it is time for parents to come to the party. If we want to avoid the troublesome times and an emergency situation, the most immediate solution would be for each parent to pay a minimum of R500 a month,” said Sholemasho.
