Pupils from Benjamin Mahlasela High School are settling well into their new schools – but some of their former teachers are still waiting to find out what the future holds for them.
Pupils from Benjamin Mahlasela High School are settling well into their new schools – but some of their former teachers are still waiting to find out what the future holds for them.
During a visit to Grahamstown a month ago, Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula attended public hearings to discuss the rationalisation and re-alignment of schools in the district. He also met parents of Benjamin Mahlasela High School pupils about relocating the children to nearby schools. This followed a drastic drop in pupil numbers and rampant vandalism of its facilities.Parents supported the proposal.
Among ideas for the building's use were that it could be transformed into a teacher resource centre, or be used by another group of pupils that had enough numbers.
Amasango Career School now awaits final approval for its proposed move on to the premises.
The move has left some teachers in limbo, however. Speaking to Grocott's Mail this week, the teachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said since schools closed at the end of last term, their lives had been turned upside-down. They said some had been successfully transferred to other schools, but others remained without work.
"We have not received our letters up to now," one teacher said.
The teachers said a representative from the education department had visited them at the school and taken their phone numbers, promising them that they would be called and told where they'd be going.
When the schools opened this week, however, they were not sure where to report.
They say the situation has put them and their families under a lot of pressure.
"We are very traumatised, even our families are taking strain because of this. Even today we don't know where we must go," one teacher said this week.
The teachers say they have heard nothing from the department regarding their fate.
"There is absolutely no communication. We are faced with a very serious problem," one teacher said.
The situation might send a negative message to the community, they warned.
"People will look at us walking around town and say, 'Look at them – they got what they want. They don't want to work,' a teacher said.
Responding to questions this week, Grahamstown District Director Amos Fetsha said he was surprised that the teachers had reported the problem to Grocott's Mail.
"Refer them to the district director," he said.
