ActionSA Condemns Musenga Vhadzimu Primary School & Others for Unlawfully Withholding School Reports
Angela Sobey
ActionSA Member of Senate
ActionSA expresses its outrage upon learning that parents at Musenga Vhadzimu Primary School, a public school in Diepsloot West, were unscrupulously confronted by school authorities demanding that parents pay R200 per child for purported security measures and other expenses before receiving their children’s end-of-year reports.
Shockingly, the school abruptly closed its gates, denying parents access and informing them that reports would now only be issued in January 2024.
This practice is not new, and we suspect that it is taking place in other parts of the country. It must be stopped because, in the end, it is the innocent learners that suffer.
The actions of the school authorities not only raise serious ethical concerns but also directly contravene Section 41(7)(d) of the South African Schools Act. This is deeply troubling, as it represents an affront to the already challenging reality of impoverished communities struggling daily for basic necessities.
As a reminder to both the school authorities and the Department of Education, Section 41(7)(d) of the South African Schools Act stipulates that “a learner may not be deprived of his or her right to participate in all aspects of the program of a public school despite the non-payment of school fees by his or her parent and may not be victimised in any manner, including but not limited to the denial of a school report or transfer certificate.”
ActionSA urgently calls upon the Minister of Education and all MECs of Education to intervene and promptly address this and similar issues as a matter of extreme urgency. Furthermore, we demand that all reports currently being withheld be released by tomorrow, Thursday, 14 December 2023, and before the commencement of the holiday break.
ActionSA Condemns Musenga Vhadzimu Primary School & Others for Unlawfully Withholding School Reports
ActionSA expresses its outrage upon learning that parents at Musenga Vhadzimu Primary School, a public school in Diepsloot West, were unscrupulously confronted by school authorities demanding that parents pay R200 per child for purported security measures and other expenses before receiving their children’s end-of-year reports.
Shockingly, the school abruptly closed its gates, denying parents access and informing them that reports would now only be issued in January 2024.
This practice is not new, and we suspect that it is taking place in other parts of the country. It must be stopped because, in the end, it is the innocent learners that suffer.
The actions of the school authorities not only raise serious ethical concerns but also directly contravene Section 41(7)(d) of the South African Schools Act. This is deeply troubling, as it represents an affront to the already challenging reality of impoverished communities struggling daily for basic necessities.
As a reminder to both the school authorities and the Department of Education, Section 41(7)(d) of the South African Schools Act stipulates that “a learner may not be deprived of his or her right to participate in all aspects of the program of a public school despite the non-payment of school fees by his or her parent and may not be victimised in any manner, including but not limited to the denial of a school report or transfer certificate.”
ActionSA urgently calls upon the Minister of Education and all MECs of Education to intervene and promptly address this and similar issues as a matter of extreme urgency. Furthermore, we demand that all reports currently being withheld be released by tomorrow, Thursday, 14 December 2023, and before the commencement of the holiday break.