More than 700 pupils and eight teachers arrived late for school ......

More than 700 pupils and eight teachers arrived late for school on Monday to find Gauteng Education MEC Barbara Creecy waiting for them at the gate.

Should they arrive late on Tuesday, the pupils would be taken to Jabulani police station, where their parents would be called to account, the livid MEC told them.

The pupils at Lavela Secondary School in Zola North were still streaming into the school Monday morning more than 30 minutes after the bell rang at 7.45am to signal the start of the morning devotions.

Groups of pupils strolled in at their leisure, despite missing the 8am bell marking the start of lessons. Many of them were already almost an hour late.

Their attitude exasperated Creecy and her entourage.

Fuming at the gate, she picked on random latecomers and asked them to explain why they were so late.

Some of them appeared unfazed by the MEC’s unannounced visit.

They chattered, giggled and embraced one another as they huddled together in groups next to the gate.

One of the pupils confronted by Creecy continued to casually suck on a lollipop while she spoke to him.

Many of the pupils could not explain why they were late, and just mumbled incoherently. The few who were able to explain said they had overslept.

Others, mostly girls, said they were late because they had had to take their younger siblings to crèche.

Creecy said the department had been monitoring the school since last week and had found that on average between 400 and 500 pupils arrived late daily. Monday morning the figure was far higher, topping 700.

Creecy said the principal had conceded that late coming was a problem at the school. She said this was one of the possible reasons that the school’s matric results had plummeted from a 59 percent pass rate in 2010 to only 51 percent last year.

“One of the reasons (for the drop in the results) is that the learners are coming into matric unprepared,” she said.

Creecy has now put her foot down and is no longer going to tolerate the laid-back attitude at Lavela Secondary.

“Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning when you arrive late, you will be taken to the Jabulani police station. Your parents will be called to explain,” she said.

Creecy, who was visibly angry, addressed the gathering of more than 300 pupils who were late for class.

Pupils who had arrived late for devotions but had arrived before the 8am start of lessons were released to go to class.

The several hundred who arrived after 8am were gathered for Creecy to address them.

While she did not shout, she firmly announced the strict measures that would go into effect from Tuesday. The news was met with grumbles and protests from the latecomers.

Creecy added that she was concerned about the late coming among teachers.

“If the adults are not setting a good example, it’s problematic. If we find that there is a habitual problem (among the teachers), we will deal with it,” she said.

Creecy did not make any immediate announcement on what action would be taken against teachers arriving late from Tuesday.

Spokesman Yusuf Abramjee took part in the initiative, and also confronted the late teachers.

“What will the children say? What example are you setting?” he asked them as they arrived.

He was particularly annoyed by one who pulled up with her music blaring, casually explaining that she had slept late as she had arrived back late last night from Limpopo. - The Star

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air said:

The police have enough on their hands to deal with this ****.

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Picard said:

Sounds like some of the schools in my area in the Western Cape.

They get the same salaries as the teachers who work their butts off but they do jack squat, during school hours and afterwards, and that's a fact.

Scheduled sports activities against these schools always get conviently cancelled due to BS reasons.

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ponder said:

That's why socialism does not work, people sit on their asses because they know they still get paid the same money as those that actually do work. The only idiots are the ones working their buts off.

If this was a private school they would have been fired a long time ago but that's not so easy to do in a government school.

Who suffers here?

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AfricanTech said:

that's what happens when there are no short term consequences (detention, cleaning toilets, lines, etc) - the problem with caning is that some teachers enjoy it too much (had a real b@st@rd in std 5 - head under the chalkboard and all that)

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knobshine said:

That's why I rekon every school should get their very own cane master with a license to cane and then everyone gets sent to them. Every year or so they'll need to renew their caning license and get evaluated on style and mindset towards their 'clients'.
Or for the more poorer schools, travelling cane masters. Offenders get put on 'THE LIST' and then once a week when the cane master comes around they all get sent to him for their canings. They'll have to come a different day each week though else the pupils will just bunk on that day. Earning themselves an additional caning in the process.

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