“Why must it always come to this?”
This was the question posed by irate parents of Papenkuil Primary School pupils as they locked its gate and took to the streets in protest on Friday for their children’s rights to quality education.
Friday marked the third occasion in two weeks that the Gelvandale school, which has 778 pupils, was shut down as a result of an absent teacher who has still not returned to work.
The protesting parents said the grade 6 and 7 mathematics and history teacher’s absence was hampering their children’s prospects of being accepted into high school.
They blocked the intersection between Beetlestone and Bell Road, wielding placards to express their gripes.
As a symbolic gesture, they placed a tyre in front of the crowd, referencing the widely held belief that government departments only take complaints seriously when aggrieved people start burning items in protest.
The parents said they had been having problems with the teacher and her repeated absenteeism for many years, but the problem had worsened in 2021.
According to the parents and members of the school governing body (SGB), their pleas to the district and provincial department of education to intervene continued to fall on deaf ears.
SGB chair Michael Loggenberg said they had not had any feedback from the department and pupils in the affected grades still did not have a substitute teacher.
“They are well aware of our protests but they do not have the decency to write us a letter, even if just to say that the matter is receiving their attention.
“This attitude from the department shows us that they do not care about the wellbeing of the children at this school,” Loggenberg said.
One grade 7 parent, who did not want to be named, said her child had already received a regret letter from a reputable high school in the Bay.
Craig Allison, whose daughter is in grade 3, said he had decided to join the protest because he did not want the same for her when she reached the intermediate phase.
Eastern Cape education spokesperson Mali Mtima said officials were aware of the issue and internal processes had been instituted against the teacher.
“The department is busy expediting the process of providing the school with a substitute teacher, as requested by the parents,” he said.
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