GATVOL community members in various towns in the Free State are ready to take school principals head-on on Wednesday, 17 January.
This following the unlawful withholding of pupils reports and matric statements, due to outstanding money they were allegedly forced to pay.
Many schools across the province have implemented the practice of withholding pupils' reports if they have outstanding balances from previous years.
This includes unpaid school fees, money for matric camps as well as buying A4 sheets of paper for print out purposes.
The matter has caused serious tension between parents, teachers and principals on social media. The group of dissatisfied parents met with the Department of Education in Thabo Mofutsanyana region on Monday, 15 January to seek clarity on the reasons why schools demand a lot of money from parents whereas education is free in South Africa.
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Community leader, Mokete Mokoena, said they have received overwhelming complaints from parents across the province.
"Some of the schools demand parents to pay R8 000 for a matric camp and parents don't have that cash. We had a meeting with the Department of Education, and they promised to write formal letters to the principals to stop them from demanding anything concerning money from parents," he said.
He said it was unlawful to deprive a pupil access to an education by putting unnecessary pressure on parents.
“We have learned with shocked that principals display arrogance and continue with this practice. We're ready to take them head on when schools reopen. We view it as corruption at its best," he said.
Provincial Department of Education spokesman, Howard Ndaba, went to a community radio station for an interview to clarify the matter in detail.
Ndaba told the listeners that it's unlawful to ambush parents to buy A4 sheets of paper, to withhold school reports, matric certificates, or statements of results, or even to suspend a pupil for not paying any of the above.
