SIZWE SAMAYENDE, Groblersdal | Tuesday
MORE than 50 white children at an Mpumalanga primary school have left the school in the past seven months after their parents protested that black parents were not paying school fees.
White parents complained that Laerskool Toitskraal in Groblersdal was struggling to pay its bills after it amalgamated with Tlakanani primary school in April and allowed poor black parents to pay only R50 a month for school fees.
White parents are charged R200 a month.
School principal, Martie Jordaan, confirmed that 41 white pupils left in April, while 12 more and a teacher left in August.
She admitted that black parents, who were poor farm labourers, were charged only R50 for school fees per month, but that had not paid yet.
“It’s a very sad story, and we are in financial problems,” she said. “There are 25 whites and 64 blacks in the school but only the whites pay their school fees.”
She could not say how much debt the school was in, but said that the school had difficulty paying for water, electricity and maintaining its playgrounds.
Some black parents have complained about whites removing their children and sending them to all-white Laerskool Julian Muller.
Laerskool Julian Muller principal, Mr W Scholtz, confirmed there were no black pupils at the school, but attributed this to the fact that the school was an Afrikaans-medium school.
“The reason is that we are an Afrikaans school and black parents want their children to learn in English,” Scholtz said.
“Every child interested in learning in Afrikaans is welcome to come to the school,” he added.
Education spokesman, Peter Maminza, said that despite its financial constraints, Toitskraal was functioning and Julian Muller was now full to capacity.
He said Toitskraal and Tlakanani were amalgamated because Tlakanani was dilapidated and Toitskraal was under-utilised. – African Eye News Service