Workers close school for children with special needs
Teachers and learners find gates locked
The 29 teachers of Mzamomhle Special School in KwaNobuhle in Uitenhage were locked out by workers at the school on Wednesday morning.
School Governing Board (SGB) members, who were also locked out by support staff, said that the 294 learners had been locked out too.
Protesting workers included drivers, cleaners, and gardeners. The workers did not want to discuss their grievances, referring GroundUp to placards they had stuck on the school buses. The placards read: âSchool runs by factionsâ, âNo transparencyâ, âNo controlâ, âNo monitoringâ, âSGB is dysfunctionalâ and âEducation doing administration workâ.
Teachers and learners found the gates locked.
Later learners and then teachers and SGB members were allowed in but teachers were told they may not teach.
SGB chairperson Nomonde Mdekazi said learners had waited at bus stops for school buses which had not arrived. Some had come to school on foot.
âThese are children with special needs. Some of them canât survive ten minutes without being looked after.â
She said a month ago the workers had demanded the resignation of one of the workers. âThey gave us a letter saying he must resign and he did. We donât know what their demands are now.â
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