The parents of learners at Mina Sachs Primary School in Keetmanshoop on Monday locked the gates to the school, denying the new principal, teachers and learners entry.

For two hours everything came to a standstill while teachers and learners were locked outside the school.

One of the parents, Johannes Witbooi, told Nampa they decided to close the gates because the Directorate of Education failed to respond to a petition submitted to it in April this year.

The parents in the petition demanded the reversal of the appointment of the new principal, Wilika Mutota, as they believed there were irregularities in the recruitment process as the appointment was allegedly not recommended by the school board. They also requested the directorate to consider appointing a principal who is fluent in Khoekhoegowab and not Oshiwambo as the learners attending the school are from a predominantly Khoekhoegowab-speaking community.

‘They should have responded to our petition before they allowed her to start working,’ Witbooi said
.

Approached for comment, ||Kharas Region Director of Education, Arts and Culture, Jesmine Magerman said the decision for Mutota to assume her duties was taken by the minister as the ministry found no irregularities in her recruitment as indicated by parents.

‘We got feedback from the office of the minister and along with the executive director and the school board we held a meeting on Thursday. We informed the school board of the outcome. The minister said she looked at all the documents presented to her and there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that the majority of the school board opposed the appointment. She specifically gave me instructions that the principal should start work,’ she said.

Magerman further said ‘the language issue is not a problem.’

‘The principal can understand and speak the language that is dominantly spoken in this area, which is Afrikaans. If parents or grandparents want to express themselves in their native language, other teachers at the school can translate,’ she
said.

She stated that if the community are not in agreement with the directorate’s decision, they can approach the Public Service Commission.

‘The commission will then look into the matter and if they are also not happy with the commission’s decision, they can seek legal advice where they can take us to court. These are all avenues that they can use to address this issue,’ Magerman added.

She also said the education directorate will engage the concerned parents.

Source: The Namibia News Agency