‘This is about education for Black people’

The principal claims the Department of Education wants to close down Black schools.

Hoernle Primary School in Rockville and the Department of Education were due back in the South Gauteng High Court on March 9th pending the matter of the department wanting to close down the school.

Apparently, the matter was not heard because Judge Masipa was admitted to hospital a couple days earlier before the set court date.

A sit-in at the premier’s office was arranged back in March by Hoernle Primary School which resulted in the premier seeking legal advice from the state representative.

Thereafter the premier’s office wrote an internal memo to the Department of Education stating that they should comply with the court order.

According to Mzimkhulu Hlalukana, principal of Hoernle Primary School, they then received a document from the Department of Education stating that they want the matter to go back to court where they want the court to rescind the second judgement which was passed in November last year and they also stated that the teachers of Hoernle Primary School were not qualified, they were just chosen by the community.

”On the matter of them (the department) wanting to rescind the court’s decisions, I can say that we are trapped by the department that is very arrogant and that has given the premier’s office the middle finger.

“We want to write to the premier’s office and ask the premier to investigate the department because we now fear a situation where these people have been paying ghost teachers in the name of Hoernle Primary School or there are other financial mismanagement issues that are present,” said Hlalukana

Hlalukana emphasised that the school can’t compete with the department as it has more resources and funds that amount to 30 million which they use to undermine the legal outcomes of not just the case at Hoernle Primary School but at other schools also.

”The school does not have the money to bring down the department, however, they (the department) have 30 million to waste on this case instead of using that money to schools that need it.

Those people are so hell-bent on destroying Black education. They want to close Soweto schools in support of schools in other areas outside Soweto.

Black teachers are being directly affected by this whilst in White schools, no such thing is happening, there are no teachers migrating from white schools because black children are going to those schools. Black teachers are losing employment in the process.”

”I’m not just a principal I’m an activist of education and I can place it on record that I’m better – not good than the entire team at district in terms of the development of schools.

“I’ve got a track record and can point out particular schools that have been developed by me from the teaching point of view to the premises point of view.

“I don’t like the losers that are employed at the department at whatever level to come and make fun of the teacher’s at Hoernle Primary School. They must pay the teachers and they must feed the children. Let there be quality education, let the doors of learning be opened,” said Hlalukana.

Hlalukana maintains that the school is still progressing and wants to appeal to parents to register their children online and if they don’t have access to a computer the school accepts walk-ins.