Cash-strapped school goes from bad to worse
Retrenchment infuriates community
FINANCIAL cuts implemented at Chatsworth Secondary School in Durban have resulted in the opening of cases of malicious damage to property and assault.
The school, which owes the eThekwini municipality R160 000 in water and electricity fees, was disrupted on Tuesday last week when pupils protested against the retrenchment of a maths teacher who had been hired by the school governing body.
The protest forced the Department of Basic Education to close the school for the week — but the institution’s management opened the gates the following day.
An office clerk was also retrenched.
The following day, several members of the community protested at the homes of three members of the governing body, calling for the trio to resign.
Two of the members of the governing body have since opened criminal complaints of assault and malicious damage to property. One member of the governing body said her two children were attacked by the mob. No arrests have been made.
One of the governing body members, who asked not to be named, said the school did not have the funds to pay the two retrenched staff members. “We will not resign. We are not wrong. We are doing this to make sure the school gets back on better ground,” she said.
The maths teacher has returned to teach at the school until the end of March.
Last week’s protest was
Children were known to climb on to the roof to serve as lookouts while classmates gambled. Truancy, loitering and alcohol consumption were also common
preceded by a court battle over a car wash business that operates from the school premises. The governing body closed down the business, citing the municipal debt.
Preneshin Chetty, owner of Evolution Car Wash, which began operating from the Chatsworth property in October 2011, went to the High Court in Durban be- cause, he said, the school’s governing body had evicted him illegally.
The governing body, which was elected in October last year, accused Chetty of siphoning off the school’s water and electricity.
Chetty denied this and said he was up to date with his payments.
The school has been plagued with problems since the release of its 2012 matric results. Last year, the KwaZulu-Natal department of education began an audit of the school amid allegations of mismanagement and pupil misconduct. Children were known to climb onto the roof to serve as lookouts while their classmates gambled. Truancy, loitering and alcohol consumption were also common at the school.
The audit has yet to be completed.
In the matter of Chetty’s car wash, the provincial department of education’s legal department has to file answering papers before the court can rule on the issue later this month.