Traditional leaders crack whip at schools

Traditional leaders south of Durban have warned teachers and disobedient pupils to shape up, or ship out.

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Durban - Traditional leaders south of Durban have warned teachers and disobedient pupils to shape up, or ship out.

This emerged on Thursday at a meeting of the newly established Mbumbulu Education Forum, which includes local indunas (headmen) and residents of parts of uMlazi, Folweni, Mbumbulu and KwaMakhutha.

The forum aims to improve the education system in the area which fared poorly in the matric exams. It would also target teachers who failed to do their duty.

The forum said only four of the 60 schools in the greater Mbumbulu area achieved more than a 60% pass rates in last year’s matric exams.

The forum would also work with school governing bodies, the community and police to root out “criminal elements” that loot schools.

Inkosi Nathi Maphumulo, one of five chiefs involved in the forum, said they would work with teachers’ unions and the KZN Department of Education to tackle the ills that plague the education system.

“When we find out that a teacher has not done one, two or three, we will ask the department to remove them from the school. We also don’t want pupils that don’t want to learn, they must stay home,” he said.

Maphumulo said there were three important legs to the school system - pupils, teachers and parents - and where one was doing badly, the whole system suffered.

“Teachers are at schools because the government has deployed them, pupils are at school because their parents have sent them here, we must be able to check where the problem is between the three legs and give assistance,” he said.

The forum called for communities to lay claim to schools and protect them from criminals who looted under their noses.

Teachers who did not attend parent meetings must be reported to the local traditional authority, Maphumulo said.

Nhlanhla Ngcobo, another member of the forum, said the safety and security concerns at schools needed to be addressed by the community, as criminals were often known in the communities where they lived.

Des Makhanya, a forum member, complained of parents who failed to attend school meetings and shoddy school governing bodies who did not understand their role.

Dr Thulani Langa, also a forum member, said it was important for parents to encourage children to read and study and for people to value their communities.

He said if this was done, township and rural schools would be on par with former Model C schools.

The forum said it would call on its members who had expertise to help strengthen rural school governing bodies.

KZN Education Department spokesman, Sihle Mlotshwa, said the department was not aware of the initiative, but was excited at the prospect.

“We’re happy to see this happening,” Mlotshwa said, “We welcome initiatives of this nature, from all sectors of the community.”

National Teachers Union deputy president, Allen Thompson, said the union welcomed the establishment of the forum.

“Everyone must be a part of the education system.”

He said he hoped the forum would not meet the same fate as similar initiatives which, in the past, had made a promising start, but had not been properly established and had thus failed.

Daily News

* Additional reporting Bernadette Wolhutter