Note to Editors: Attached please find a soundbite in English here by Sergio Isa Dos Santos MPL.
The Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) failure to resolve longstanding allegations of financial mismanagement, intimidation and administrative failures involving the school principal and the School Governing Body (SGB) is disrupting teaching and learning at Franklin D Roosevelt Primary School in Randburg, Johannesburg.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng calls on the GDE MEC Lebogang Maile to urgently commission an independent investigation into these allegations, hold those found liable accountable, and restore order at this school for the benefit of learners. We will submit questions to the MEC to establish the history of this case and determine whether it aligns with all the documentary evidence obtained.
The DA has received serious allegations against the principal, including financial irregularities, the sale of posts, extortion, and intimidation. A notable claim involves an SGB member who was reportedly told to pay R5,000 to renew their contract. The situation has worsened, with ten educators leaving the school and daily absences of at least four to five teachers. Grade 5 Afrikaans classes are combined because of a shortage of qualified educators, and learners are being taught by unqualified staff.
Despite numerous engagements between the SGB and GDE, these concerns reportedly remain unresolved. The principal was previously dismissed but was reinstated by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) after the GDE allegedly failed to submit the required documentation within the prescribed timeframe.
Administrative failures within the GDE undermine accountability and compromise learners’ education. MEC Maile must establish why the required documentation was not submitted on time and whether any officials failed in their duties. Anyone found to have acted improperly must be held accountable.
Under a DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government, school governance would be strengthened through transparent financial oversight, accountability and swift intervention in disputes, teacher absenteeism or management failures that compromise learners’ education.