A wave of blue and white swept the premises of Fezeka High School in Gugulethu early on Monday morning as Grade 10 and 11 pupils demanded that their physical science teacher be replaced.
The pupils told Vukani that they were tired of their “lazy teacher who is a friend of the school principal” and that they had been complaining since the beginning of this year.
The pupils, carrying placards, sang in front of the school administration gate, blew whistles, and shouted:
“No teacher no future, We are a better future. We have had enough and Sifuna imfundo”. One pupil said the current teacher did not take the subject seriously.
“When we threaten to report her to the principal she will tell us to go ahead. She would tell us nothing would happen to her because she is a friend of the principal.
“And indeed we did report her not once but many times and nothing has happened to her. The frustration has been mounting to us that is why we have resorted to this. Technically we do have a physical science teacher,” she said.
Another pupil said: “This is enough now. Why must we keep quiet when our future is at stake here? Soon we will be going to the upper grades but with no knowledge of the subject.
“The principal should act on the teacher or get us somebody who has our interest in her heart. This one does not care for us, period.”
Jessica Shelver, the spokesperson for Education MEC Debbie Schafer, confirmed that the Western Cape Education was aware of the protest. She said the principal had contacted the district office and Safe Schools to inform them of the protest action at the school on Monday morning.
“The Principal has confirmed that the pupils have had a physical sciences teacher since the beginning of this year. The Student Representative Councils chair handed over a memorandum to the principal and a school governing body meeting has been called to discuss the allegations and the way forward,” she told Vukani.ok.chan