Chaos erupted at Inkanini Primary School, in Cape Town, when the governing body’s chairperson blocked the principal from entering the premises.
The fight between the two has been raging since last year when the School Governing Body (SGB) chairperson Andile Lili allegedly slapped the school principal.
Lili, who is also a Western Cape ANC legislature member, was arrested and will appear again in court on 27 January.
On Monday, the principal went to the school to make sure they were ready for the school opening on Wednesday.
This is when she was stopped by Lili who refused her access to the school.
His action angered the community and resulted in a protest.
Kelebogile Maboyana, a parent, said Lili had abused the principal for too long and they could not take it anymore.
“The SGB chairperson thinks he’s the school principal and has the right to block the principal from coming to school. She was hired by the Department of Education and she is the principal,” he told Scrolla.Africa.
But Lili believes that every parent stands with the SGB.
“We chased the principal last year because she is not fit for the job. She doesn’t treat all her staff the same way,” said Lili.
He accused the principal of hiring a relative and allowing him to come late to school.
“She hired her relative and we can’t condone the bad things the teacher is doing at school, like coming late because he is a DJ at night,” Lili added.
“As for hitting her, those are lies. I have never laid my hand on her. I want to see her in court, not in school. She opened a case against me, so we must focus on that.”
Bronagh Hammond, Western Cape Education Department spokesperson, condemns the locking of the gates by the SGB chairperson.
“The gates of the school were locked this morning, denying the principal access to the school. It is not the role of the SGB chairperson to determine when a school is closed,” he told Scrolla.Africa.
Pictured above: Parents outside Inkanini Primary School school in Cape Town protest in support of the school principal.
Image source: Buziwe Nocuze
