SGB urges action against principal amid work-to-rule campaign at Westville Senior Primary
While some staff embarked on work-to-rule action at the Westville Senior Primary School, the school governing body (SGB) has demanded the immediate suspension of the principal.
In a legal letter to the department, seen by The Mercury, the SGB said it was “patently clear” that the principal should have faced charges of serious misconduct including for allegations of victimisation and humiliation of staff, sexist remarks, and theft of school property. The letter demanded the principal’s immediate suspension and disciplinary charges.
“We have been instructed to demand from you, as we hereby do, that you suspend (the principal) with immediate effect and that you charge him with misconduct. If you fail to do so, our client will approach the High Court for an order to compel you to do so once it has approval from its parents to reallocate funds in its budget, following the budget meeting scheduled for 25 August 2025.”
On Friday, the SGB informed parents that 51 of the school’s 61 staff members would join a “work-to-rule” campaign. The three-day action from Monday ended yesterday. In terms of the work-to-rule, the staff were not available for duties or classes outside of the standard school day hours.
In a statement to the parents, the governing body said it would “continue to prioritise the well-being of the children and the staff at the school” and confirmed that it had called for the Department of Education to suspend the headmaster with immediate effect.
The demand follows years of growing frustration among parents over what they describe as the department’s failure to act.
Earlier this month, a group of parents accused the department of showing a “troubling lack of capacity and inability to conduct timely, thorough, and transparent investigations” into complaints against the principal. The grievances are longstanding.
In May 2024, parents staged a protest outside the school, citing more than 50 unresolved complaints dating back to 2023. Allegations ranged from financial mismanagement and procedural misconduct to the unilateral dropping of isiZulu as a first additional language.
Reacting to the developments, DA spokesperson on education in KwaZulu-Natal, Sakhile Mngadi, said the department’s failure to act on its own findings was “deeply concerning.” “The DA fully respects the role of school governing bodies as recognised under the South African Schools Act. If a departmental report from 2023 already recommended action against the principal, then it is deeply concerning that the department has not implemented its own findings.
“Failure to act decisively not only undermines governance but also erodes the confidence of parents and staff in the education system. The DA therefore supports the call for accountability and expects the department to urgently enforce its own recommendations in line with due process.”
Mngadi said the DA wanted stricter oversight. “The DA believes that accountability in education must go beyond reactive investigations. We want to see time-bound disciplinary frameworks, the public release of investigation reports, stronger oversight of principals and SGBs, and a culture of consequence management, where misconduct is swiftly addressed to restore trust. “Ultimately, schools should be places of learning, not battlegrounds of dysfunction.”
The Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.