Residents of Cosmo City, in the North of Johannesburg, are accusing members of the school governing body (SGB) at Tirisano Mmogo Primary School, of demanding bribes in order to allow their children enter school premises.
Image: Simon Majadibodu/IOL
Residents of Cosmo City, in the North of Johannesburg, are accusing members of the school governing body (SGB) at Tirisano Mmogo Primary School of demanding bribes in order to allow their children to enter school premises, due to missing documents.
Schools are reopening for the 2025 academic year on Wednesday, following the release of the Class of 2024 matric results on Monday by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube.
Parents at Zandspruit informal settlement and the nearby township, Cosmo City, have flooded to schools early in the morning as classes resumed.
When IOL News arrived at Tswelelopele Primary School in Zandspruit, at 8 am, we were greeted by sad faces of parents outside the school premises. The school serves Grade 1 to Grade 3.
Many parents said they arrived as early as 6 am hoping for a smooth school reopening, but instead they faced frustration.
A Zimbabwean woman, Simangele Moyo, said she was turned away by a member of the SGB due to her not having the required documents.
Moyo, together with her six-year-old boy, who was previously attending school in his homeland, dressed in full uniform, was supposed to start Grade 2 at the school.
However, without a previous progress report and a school transfer, she was told there is nothing the school can do.
“I told them that I would have the documents sent, but the child was attending school in Zimbabwe,” Moyo told IOL News.
Another mother, Simangele Mnguni, from the area, experienced a similar situation.
Despite her child being placed at the school, Mnguni was turned away as she lacked a birth certificate of her six-year-old daughter, who was set to start Grade 1.
“My daughter was so excited to be starting school, however, her excitement is now gone,” Mnguni said.
Addressing scores of parents who were desperate for their children to be allowed to enter the school premises, an SGB member, Stanley Mbatha, said they would need a letter from a social worker to allow their children to enter.
“Those who don’t now have proper documents or anything else, they would have to wait for a social worker who works at Zandspruit Clinic to give them a letter which will allow their children to enter the school,” he told the crowd.
However, he added that the social worker would arrive in the afternoon.
At Tirisano Mmogo Primary School, in Cosmo City Extension 4, IOL News was also welcomed by a long queue of parents and children queuing outside the school hoping for assistance.
Many of the parents said they had applied for space last year and their children were placed in the school, which has classes from Grade 1 to Grade 7.
However, upon arrival, they were turned away due to missing documents.
Frustrated parent, Dineo Gwendoline, said she arrived at 6am but she was told she needed a title deed to prove her residence, despite her child being placed at the school.
She said she was told by an SGB member that other documents such as bank statements, pay slips or electricity bills, would not suffice.
“They told me that they wanted a title deed of the house I am staying at, despite my son being placed at the school,” Gwendoline said.
“When I told them that I don't have one, they said I should make a plan - essentially offering them money for a cold drink to get help,” she claimed.
Her child, also dressed in his full uniform, was eager to start Grade 1. The child looked sad as his peers were entering the school.
IOL News attempted to speak with SGB members at the school, but they refused to speak, saying that an appointment was necessary.
At Cosmo City Primary 1, parents were also camping outside, experiencing the same issues of being asked to present necessary documentation to enroll their children.
The school is one of the most overcrowded in the area and has a large number of learners each and every year.
IOL News