GALOOME SHOPANE Parents at Namanyane Primary School in Thaba Nchu have been forced to pay for their children’s reading material in advance.
The principal of the non-feepaying school allegedly refused to give learners their books before R55 was paid.
He later apparently forced parents to sign a book, undertaking to pay the money on the third of next month.
Parents are up in arms.
"My son was sent back home on the first day of school. The principal told him that he must tell me that he will not get any books before I pay R55. I went to the school and told him that I don’t work, then he said there is nothing he can do.
I then made a plan to get the R55, paid it and my child received his books," says one mom.
While another one had this to say "the principal made me sign something like a binding contract, that says I (will) pay that R55 on the 3rd of February. (When) I refused to sign it, he said my children won’t get books. So I had to sign it because I was under pressure."
Free State Education spokesperson Howard Ndaba says learners at Namanyane may not be discriminated against if their parents can’t afford R55 for learning material.
He says the claims are false.
"That is (an) absolute lie, I’m saying no learner in that school has been denied learning material, no learner."
