Department working to resolve incident that sparked Tumelo primary protest

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will discuss the way forward.

Department of Education is aware of the incident that happened at Tumelo Primary School where a group of ‘concerned parents” had blockaded the entrance while learners and the educators remained outside the school premises.

According to the Department of Education spokesperson Oupa Bodibe a meeting was convened with the department officials and the School Governing Body (SGB) members soon after the incident to address the grievances of the concerned parents.

“The department has deployed district officials to engage with the current SGB members to deal with the issues raised and a report back meeting would be held with the concerned parents.

Bodibe said that an Annual General Meeting (AGM) would be held on December 11 to pave the way forward.

Parents gathered at Tumelo Primary School on November 9 to protest for the removal of the SGB and the school principal Tshepi Mochudi.

The parents collectively said that no gates will be opened before the principal arrives and answers their questions: “We want a meeting to get answers on what is happening with the school funds and we also want a new school principal,” said one of the parents Charlotte Makgotla.

Makgotla said that they have been pleading with the principal to fix some of the things that were damaged at the school.

“We drafted a petition on October 27 and sent it to the district and they said that they would answer us after seven days and we have been requesting a meeting with the school principal but he has been ignoring our request.”