A group of concerned parents from Mitchells Plain have called on the management of a primary school to resign, as they have allegedly failed to act on serious complaints about “bullying, threats, and sexual assault” on pupils.
The mother of a Grade 4 learner at Alpine Primary School says in one incident her daughter and friends was surrounded by a group of boys and told to “suig their p***e”, but when the little girl complained to a teacher she was told that she was lying.
The mom says she reported the incident to the principal but nothing was done.
Another mother, who has a child in Grade 7, says her complaints about her child being victimised and threatened have fallen on deaf ears.
The upset woman says: “What makes me more upset is that on one occasion the deputy principal called in my child with the learner who was victimising her, the child's parents, siblings and grandma, without me being present.
“My child was afraid to go to school, the one victimising her used to tell her that they were going to wait for her after school.
“She was so afraid, I had to take her to the social worker myself. She even stayed out of school for three days because of how scared she was.”
Another mommy says her child was threatened with a knife at school and was also promised help by the school's management but has not received any feedback.
There are more than 10 parents who have all raised similar concerns and have called on the school leadership to either step down or be removed.
The parents plan to protest in front of the school on Monday morning.
Western Cape Education Department (WCED) spokesperson Bronagh Hammond says they received an email from a parent on 18 October outlining an alleged bullying incident.
She confirms: “An investigation was initiated immediately. The parent expressed her thanks for the prompt response from the district and counselling support offered.”
She says the WCED had also engaged with a separate group of parents on 11 October at the Metro South Education District offices.
Hammond adds: “They raised issues relating to the management of bullying at the school.
“District officials met with the principal addressing the issues and requested that the school submit a management plan for bullying.
“The WCED psychologist visited the school and a social worker is scheduled to revisit for counselling on bullying matters.”
Hammond says an anti-bullying workshop has been arranged for staff to ensure that the school follows protocols and complies with the legislative frameworks when dealing with learner-on-learner abuse cases.
She says the WCED district will follow up on the cases reported to the media and confirm if they overlap with the cases they are addressing currently.