PARENTS from Ekurhuleni School for the Deaf are tired of being threatened while their kids suffer.
The kids and parents downed tools on Friday and monday, to protest against the school’s alleged misconduct.
A parent, whose name is known to the people’s paper, explained the difficulties experienced by kids in the school, especially the boarding section.
“I am not happy with our children’s living conditions. We pay R600 for boarding and R280 for fees, yet our children don’t even have chairs to sit on while eating,” said the mum.
She explained that they sat on the cold floor when they were eating.
“This school gets funding from government and other sponsors. There’s even businesses paying for rental, but our children get meals that are not nutritional twice a day. On a good day, they get two slices of bread and juice for supper,” she added.
She said although parents paid school fees, the kids survived on what they received from the feeding scheme only.
“We really need help because we don’t know what to do. The boarding mothers don’t even have a decent cupboard to store their clothes – they keep them in plastic bags in the kitchen,” she said.
She said hostel mothers used the kitchen stove and a loaned heater to heat up the place.
“These still don’t make a difference because the area is open with no carpets. In the same cottage, 16 pupils share one toilet, shower and bath with hostel mothers. There’s no TV or designated area for homework.”
The mum said the kids were threatened with expulsion if they reported their living conditions.
“Even some of us fear that our kids will be victimised if we speak out. Our previous SGB chairman, who questioned the school’s finances and starvation of our children, was fired. After many years of attendance, the district told him that his son was not a candidate of the school and that it was referring him to another one, just to silence him.”
She was pleading with the Department of Basic Education to intervene and for a thorough investigation to take place.
The Gauteng Education Department sent some of its officials to the school to investigate and calm the protests. Spokesperson for the Department, Steve Mabona, said: “We just want to make sure that we attend to all the concerns that were raised. We have met with some of the parents and school management. Our district officials were there just to understand what issues were put on the table.”
Discussions with the school principal are said to have seen no progress for the past two weeks. Protests began on Friday and calmed down but continued on Monday.
Mabona said that some things raised were justified and could be managed better at the school.
