Community leader Lonwabo Mqina says they want the principal removed as he has failed in his running of the school.
Community leaders and members of school governing body (SGB) of Luleka Primary School in Khayelitsha have accused the school principal of incompetence, nepotism and corruption.
On Thursday March 4, more than 50 residents along with the SGB members held a peaceful picket outside the school, armed with placards demanding the immediate removal of the principal.
The leaders then went to the offices of the Western Cape Education Department in Cape Town to raise their concerns about the school principal.
They argued that the school principal had hired and fired teachers without consulting the members of SGB.
SGB chairperson, Mxolisi Zwayi, said the principal had failed dismally in his running of the school and that they had not been kept in the loop about the school’s finances. He also accused the principal of misusing school funds and not accounting for what the money was used for.
Since 2013, he said, they had been writing to the department to raise their concerns but they had had no response.
“We want the department to remove this person from this school and place him anywhere it wants.
“We do not want any time frames. We want him removed as soon as possible. He does not follow the school procedures at all,” he said.
Community leader, Lonwabo Mqina supported the call for the principal to be removed, saying he had “total disregard” for the SGB.
"We cant have a principal who runs this school like a spaza shop. A school is a community institution and SGB should have a say in the operations of the school," he said.
Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, confirmed that the protesters had been at Ms Schäfer’s office last Thursday, to raise concerns about the principal. She said Ms Schäfer and chief director of districts at the WCED Alan Meyer had listened to their concerns and engaged with the leaders.
She said a meeting between the leadership of the group, Mr Meyer, and the district director, would take place this week and that the principal would report to the district office temporarily while the matter was being investigated.