The school year at Tulip Combined Secondary School began with mild disruptions due to a protest over revoked bursaries. Parents of learners who had their bursaries cancelled, threatened a lockdown of the school but clarification from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has put the matter to rest.
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The GDE confirmed that the school acted within its rights by revoking bursaries that were issued by former principal Nyandeni. GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona stated, “Tulip Combined Secondary School instituted a process of scrapping all previous bursaries following the discovery of discrepancies in the process used by the previous principal in selecting beneficiaries”.
Nyandeni was dismissed late last year after being found guilty of several issues related to mismanagement of the school. “For the 2020 academic year, the school has initiated a formal process to ensure that bursaries are awarded to deserving recipients who meet the qualifying criteria such as academic excellence, sporting achievements or financial need,” Mabona added.
The school will award new bursaries to deserving candidates solely on merit. “For a bursary to be allocated, there must be a recommendation by the applicable teacher who obviously knows the circumstances of that particular learner. Supporting and validating documents are then obtained from the parents/ guardian. Each bursary proposal is carefully evaluated by the School Management Team prior to being collectively approved,” Mabona concluded.
