A matric pupil at Stanmore Secondary School, in Phoenix, north of Durban was allegedly chased out of the school just days into the school year, prompting a widespread outrage after video-footage of the incident went viral on social media.
The incident, drew attention from concerned parents and community leaders, allegedly centre’s on a dispute over a previous incident last year. Three pupils fought and the Grade 12 pupil was accused of recording the incident. The pupil, who cannot be named, said that “he had been cleared off the allegations following investigations by the school which proved that he was innocent”. He said that although he was proved not guilty, the pupil’s parents still wanted to meet his parent. “The school had given my dad a date to come in and discuss the matter last year, but he could not get a day off from work so the meeting was rescheduled for Tuesday, 21 January. A few days later, a group of parents went to school regarding the Grade 11 failure rate and I was also there to support my friend and because of that, I have since been victimised by the principal and one of the teachers.”
The pupil said: “As I entered the school premises on the first day of the academic year as a matriculant, I was told by a male teacher to ‘get out of the school premises and not return back to school’ because of the incident that occurred last year. I went to the principal and informed her about the teacher and after speaking to her, she said that I must understand his frustration. She sent me back to class and called me the following day to tell me that she has to honour her word and I must stay at home because she had a meeting with the teacher and that’s what he wanted. This teacher has been abusing and harassing me a lot, and none of the teachers want to believe us. He has something called ‘Vegas’ where he hits the children and says that ‘whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ – in that way there will be no witnesses to state what he has done. There are many witnesses that can validate my statement.”
In a separate incident the Grade 12 pupil claimed he was victimised when he asked to leave the classroom to use the toilet. “They refused permission for me to use the toilet but immediately allowed another learner to use the toilet. I desperately needed to use the toilet so I made my way to the toilet and immediately went back to class. The following day, I was called to a hearing by the principal, deputy principal and two other teachers. They didn’t allow my parent to be present. I was informed that the other boy was allowed to use the toilet because he had medical issues and had given notes. The learner said that was not true. I then approached the deputy principal because I felt that I was mistreated and she responded by saying “they had to defend themselves”.
Veteren community activist and parent representative, Rafic Bux said he was concerned when he noticed a Grade12 pupil leaving the school premises at 9am on the second day of the academic year: “A few parents and I were waiting outside Stanmore Secondary School, to pick up appeal forms for the mass Grade 11 failure rate in 2024, to hand over at the Pinetown Department of Education, when we noticed a learner leaving the school premises. I called him and asked why he was leaving school so early and he informed us that the principal said he must go home and bring his parents regarding an issue that transpired in December 2024. I then asked him for his dad’s phone number to get clarification and was told that he will only be available on Tuesday, 21 January to go to the school. My concern is that this learner has lost four days of learning as he is in matric this year. The principal was completely unreasonable to send the pupil home without his father’s knowledge, what if something had happened to the learner as he was leaving the school premises – who do we hold responsible?”
Another parent, who wished to remain anonymous, raised serious concerns about the supposed victimisation of learners and a host of other alarming issues at the school. Another parent told the Phoenix Tabloid that her daughter, who will be repeating Grade 11 for the fourth year, wanted to take her own life: “We, as parents, have been trying for months to voice our concerns to the principal, but we are consistently ignored or dismissed. It feels like our voices are falling on deaf ears. What is happening within this school is unacceptable. We are seeing an alarming number of learners fail a single subject, and this failure forces them to repeat the entire year. ”
The parent called for urgent intervention from the Department of Education, expressing fears for the long-term impact this environment could have on the learners. “It is beyond comprehension that these issues have persisted for so long without any action from the school. If the Department of Education doesn’t step in immediately, our children will bear the brunt of this negligence. We cannot sit back and watch their futures be destroyed because of a system that refuses to hold its staff accountable. We need change, and we need it now. These are our children’s lives we’re talking about – this isn’t something that can wait,” said the irate parents.
Democratic Liberal Congress (DLC) leader, Councillor Patrick Pillay, who recently met with parents seeking his assistance, said that he has reported the issues experienced by the parents of Stanmore Secondary School and other secondary schools to the MEC of Education and the HOD of Education.
“Achallenging factor is that the Phoenix Teachers Centre cannot be reached by phone and communication with the school centre management to address matters. This results in nothing being done in addressing issues of unfair practices. I also have requested the MEC and HOD to investigate the removal of a matriculant from Stanmore Secondary School although the child was never suspended. Our children’s education is important and it is absolutely important for the educators and parents to work together in harmony in the best interest of the children,” added Pillay.
Following numerous attempts to get a comment from the SGB, a comment was not provided. The Department of Education was also approached for comment and none was forthcoming.
