Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lesufi addressed parents at the Wits Linder Auditorium on 24 January after addressing the media earlier in the day on the latest developments in regards to the steps taken after the death of Grade 8 learner Enock Mpianzi.
Parents are expected to decide the fate of the current SGB at this meeting, parents say they are unhappy having the media at their meeting.
This comes after Lesufi officially suspended the headmaster, Malcolm Williams at a press briefing earlier on today.
Read the full story here: Lesufi confirms that Parktown Boys’ headmaster has been suspended
The media were eventually kicked out of the venue, former parents Michelle Hobkirk and Ian Daley were also sent out of the meeting because they are not current parents at the school, they requested that the ‘captured’ SGB step down and be assessed.
Spokesperson for the department Steve Mabona explained that it was a matter of principle not to allow the media inside the meeting, adding that the parents said they did not want the media present.
UPDATE: 9.30pm (24 January)
Lesufi said, “Parents wanted to be communicated to alone [without the media] because stories have circulated all over the place and no one has given them the opportunity to express themselves and their grievances.”
Parents feel that the story of the child who narrated what took place at the camp should have been communicated to them first so that they could know whether to trust the information.
He said that the parents want the school to be protected because it is going through a difficult time. The difficulties are not as a result of the school alone but the society in general.
Lesufi will address learners on Tuesday [28 January] concerning the culture of silence at the school. “There is no culture of silence but rather a culture of democracy.”
Learners will be given the same report and allowed to express their views.
It appears that the SGB will be given an opportunity to account for themselves. Parents feel that the department is not treating them well. They feel that they are the last ones to be addressed after the media.
Watch:
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/271147/lesufi-confirms-parktown-boys-headmaster-suspended/
https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/270999/sarah04nyatistatement/
https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/270610/watch-mec-lesufi-visibly-shaken-death-parktown-boys-learner/
