Teachers and support staff at King William’s Town’s King Private College abandoned their duties on Monday and picketed outside the school premises over allegations of long-running ill-treatment by school founder and Principal, Isaac Gxasheka.
The teachers claim that on daily basis they take verbal abuse, threats and intimidation from Gxasheka.
When the DispatchLIVE visited the school this morning dozens of pupils were scattered outside the school field playing with no supervision. Nine teachers and four support staff members gathered under the trees outside the school.
The all-female teachers accuse Gxasheka of delaying salary payments and intimidating them into keeping quiet about their salaries. Some of them claimed they had not been paid since April.
Four of the teachers, who are from Zimbabwe, accused Gxasheka of using xenophobic slurs. “The principal calls us makwerekwereeverytime we enquire about our salaries. He even threatened to fire us or hit us if we continue with this ‘nonsense’.”
Gxasheka, who established the school in 2011, is also the director of the school and is responsible for transferring salaries into the worker’s bank accounts.
The Dispatch understands that the only male teacher at the school, also from Zimbabwe, was fired today after asking about his salary.
Gxasheka later denied all allegations, saying his relationship with the teachers was “well”. He said no one had raised any grievances with him.
No learning at EC school as teacher protest against principal
The teachers claim that on daily basis they take verbal abuse, threats and intimidation from Gxasheka.
When the DispatchLIVE visited the school this morning dozens of pupils were scattered outside the school field playing with no supervision. Nine teachers and four support staff members gathered under the trees outside the school.
The all-female teachers accuse Gxasheka of delaying salary payments and intimidating them into keeping quiet about their salaries. Some of them claimed they had not been paid since April.
Four of the teachers, who are from Zimbabwe, accused Gxasheka of using xenophobic slurs. “The principal calls us makwerekwereeverytime we enquire about our salaries. He even threatened to fire us or hit us if we continue with this ‘nonsense’.”
Gxasheka, who established the school in 2011, is also the director of the school and is responsible for transferring salaries into the worker’s bank accounts.
The Dispatch understands that the only male teacher at the school, also from Zimbabwe, was fired today after asking about his salary.
Gxasheka later denied all allegations, saying his relationship with the teachers was “well”. He said no one had raised any grievances with him.
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