Cape Town - The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has confirmed that learning and teaching has resumed after protests at the Tembaletu Special School in Gugulethu.
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the department was aware of the protest on Monday, but teaching and learning had resumed yesterday without disruption.
“Some community members, many of who do not have children in the school, have made various allegations against the principal and school management team. One such allegation is the hiring of school bus drivers from outside the community,” Hammond said.
“The School Governing Body has claimed the drivers are local, and due process has been followed. The principal has made numerous attempts to discuss this with the relevant community members; however they have not arrived for the meetings.”
Hammond said there were also parents on the SGB who did not live in the immediate area, but had children attending the school.
“It is the nature of special schools, given the specific needs that they cater for, to accommodate learners from outside the immediate area. This is not uncommon at all special needs schools in the province.”
She said residents who were not parents of pupils attending the school were not eligible to be part of the SGB.
A meeting was scheduled to take place yesterday, to discuss the issues raised.
“We are hopeful that the community will ensure that the best interests of the learners are served,” Hammond said.
Speaking to the Cape Argus, a resident alleged that the school’s principal was not hiring people from Gugulethu, and claimed that those living in Khayelitsha were favoured.
The school for differently-abled children was taken over by the WCED in 1996.