Another funny case of school donations has emerged, this time at Phateng Secondary School in Buffer Zone, Mamelodi East.
An incensed parent, Shandukane Mothoa alerted Tshwane Talks on Thursday that the principal of Phateng Secondary, Mr Mohlala, is refusing to admit grade 8 learners to the school if their parents have not paid an amount of R800 as “donation” to the school.
This story comes hot in the heels of a similar story published in Tshwane Talks earlier this week about so-called donations at Jafta Mahlangu Secondary School in Mamelodi West.
According to Mothoa, he wanted to enroll his 13-year-old boy for grade 8 at Phateng Secondary but Mr Mohlala the principal of the school prevented him from doing so as he had not paid the demanded R800 donation fee.
“My wife also tried to talk to the principal to admit my boy to the school, but the principal told her to make own means and make sure that she paid the stipulated donation,” he said.
According to Mothoa, several grade 8 learners including his son, whose parents have not paid the said donation are kept in two isolated classrooms wherein they are ignored, are not given learning material and no lessons take place.
Tshwane Talks then contacted Mohlala the principal regarding the controversial donations and his response was that the donations are used “to augment the coffers of the school as the grant that the school receives from the Gauteng Department of Education is inadequate and doesn’t meet the needs of the school.”
Mohlala couldn’t explain what those “needs” are because the salaries of all staff members at the school are paid directly by the Gauteng Department of Education.
What he did was to insist that the said donation is actually R600 and not R800 as widely held by some people.
On top of the donations, learners are expected to buy for the school a box/ 5 reems of typek sheets.
All this despite the fact that Phateng Secondary School is a no-fee-paying school whereby learners must attend for free.
Mohlala the principal then invited Tshwane Talks to come and interview him at the school regarding the aforesaid allegations against him, but when our colleague met him, he did an about-turn and said he was not allowed to speak to the media as he might be expelled from his job as principal of Phateng Secondary School.
Before publication of this story, Mohlala phoned and told Tshwane Talks that all learners seeking placement at his school have all been admitted and have been supplied with learning material irrespective of whether their parents have paid the much-maligned R800 “donation” or not.
Be that as it may, Tshwane Talks still has to verify this very assertion before taking the principal’s word for it.ER FUNNY CASE OF SCHOOL DONATIONS, THIS TIME AT PHATENG SECONDARY.