By: Natasha Archary
Teachers at an Eastern Cape Primary School have come under fire after images of learners sleeping on the floor of a parking lot went viral on Monday, 03 October.
The teachers are accused of abandoning learners to go attend a party reportedly leaving them unsupervised.
Tolweni Primary School in the Eastern Cape were unavailable for comment on the images which were circulated on social media.
Wearing their school uniform, many of the learners had fallen asleep on the floor of the parking lot and there is no indication how long the learners were left to their own devices.
According to reports, the learners and teachers were on a school trip and had made a stop before the educators left in a different taxi to attend a beach braai and go to a local casino.
The Ntabankulu Municipality has challenged the version of events portrayed by disgruntled parents on social media.
“Ntabankulu Local Municipality embarked on a fact finding mission about this alleged act of negligence, as the school in question was said to be in Ntabankulu. It is now confirmed that the school is under Qumbu, not Ntabankulu.
Department authorities from the side of Qumbu are following up on the matter with teachers and giving it the necessary attention it deserves. Those who rang the bell upon discovering this disturbing scene are most appreciated.”
An investigation into the incident is said to be underway, but the regional government is convinced that the learners were not mistreated and that teachers were not negligent.
“There was a group of learners and educators who waited at the fuel station while others were busy with finding some essentials.
No one was abused by educators. Parents and learners can confirm this, after a meeting was held at the school to give feedback. Therefore, the pictures circulating of learners from Tolweni Primary School isn’t a true reflection of what happened.”
Qumbu Municipality spokesperson
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