Learners at Tuscany Glen High School in Blue Downs have finally received their long-awaited matric jackets but the relief comes after weeks of frustration, finger-pointing, and public pressure.

The breakthrough came after Vanessa Le Roux, founder of Parents for Equal Education (Peesa), intervened when she saw the newspaper article in the Weekend Argus about the learners’ plight.

The learners had protested outside the school earlier this month, accusing management of failing to deliver on jackets they had already paid R1,000 for, some as far back as March.

The supplier, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of reputational damage, has now spoken out about the challenges behind the scenes, detailing how the school’s alleged lack of transparency led to chaos and left their small business financially strained.

“I’ve been in this trade for 16 years, and at the end of the day, as a small business, you are the one who loose the money,” the supplier said.

“I started this business because I know how much it means to the kids, their pride and joy. I wanted to give them the same opportunities children at Model C schools get.”

According to the supplier, the jackets were ready for delivery five weeks ago, but the school allegedly admitted that it did not have the funds to pay the outstanding balance.

“When I arrived to deliver, they told me they didn’t have the money because of the day-to-day running of the school, since many learners don’t pay school fees. Instead of being upfront, they shifted the blame onto me as the supplier, saying there were delays with the material. That wasn’t true.

“The truth is by 1 August they still owed me around R80,000 and then they managed to bring it down within two weeks to around R48 000 owed.”

In the weeks that followed, frustration grew among learners and parents. The supplier explained that some parents approached them directly for jackets, which were handed over once proof of payment was provided.

“I didn’t want to withhold jackets from kids whose parents had already paid. The most disturbing part was when I spoke to a parent who came to fetch her child’s jacket, I realised the lack of honesty from the school.

“If the school had been transparent from the start, perhaps parents and learners would have understood the delay, because I still pushed through to complete the order, even with the outstanding debt, I had hoped they would keep their side of the agreement.

“I was at the school on two occasions, the first time to deliver the medium sized jackets and the second to speak about a way forward, but then I heard about the lies being spoken about me and didn’t go back. ”

He said he was contacted by Le Roux who suggested an open discussion meeting with the school and parents to find an amicable solution.

“That happened this past weekend, and my wife and I decided we would hand over all 159 jackets, with our faith placed in an agreement for the school to settle the outstanding balance.

“We lost a lot. We had to communicate with angry parents every day, and people heard rumours that blamed us. That kind of reputational damage is difficult for a small business to recover from. At one point, I even considered just walking away, but then I thought about the learners. This is their pride and joy, something they will treasure forever and I couldn’t let them down.”

Le Roux said she decided to intervene after seeing tensions escalate:

“Two years ago, I was in a safety meeting with SAPS in the same area where two schools clashed with each other, and I realised how serious these type of situations can become.

“When the story of this protest reached me, it had already happened. I learnt that some of the children vandalised teachers’ cars and damaged property.

“I immediately called the principal, the School Governing Body, and later the supplier. I knew the jackets were already finished, I had seen the merchandise myself.

“I explained why this was so concerning to me and stressed to the principal: ‘what will it cost to repair a vandalised school compared to resolving the jackets issue?’”

Le Roux said she learnt that most learners had not yet paid in full for their jackets.

“It is not that the money was stolen, the full amount for the ordered jackets was not there. The school tried to pay with their day-to-day money but by that time the debits already went off.”

She said she then called the meeting with the supplier and principal.

“I basically had to beg…and decided al moet die skool die bullet bite, a new contract needed to be signed making the school responsible. Nobody stole money, it’s simply that not everybody didn’t pay.”

“My proposal was that the school should release the jackets to those who had already paid, and allow others to collect once their payments were complete, that way they could pay the supplier accordingly.

“The school could also use its funds to cover the outstanding balance in the meantime, and then recover the money from the learners afterwards. The contract was signed to protect all parties, placing responsibility on the SGB for repayment.

“At the end of the day we have to remember: these are business people. It’s their livelihood. It’s not right to make accusations or spread misinformation when the facts are not known.”

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus 

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