I wonder who theire parents are
School's out for Oprah's poor SA girls
Thembisile Makgalemele
July 22 2006 at 05:04PM
Young girls from poor backgrounds stood a chance to be fed, educated and clothed for free at Oprah Winfrey's exclusive South African school - but the opportunity has slipped through their fingers.
Their fate was in the hands of their educators, who should have helped them with application forms for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, but the educators refused because their own children did not qualify, according to a source. Educators were also told that forms submitted after the closing date July 18, would not be considered.
Consultants from Placement in Education distributed forms to schools countrywide from June 12, and requested principals to assist with selecting pupils who met the criteria. One requirement was that girls should be from families with incomes not exceeding R5 000 per month. The organisations also visited 22 schools for assistance, but the principals had other ideas, claimed the source.
"When they realised that their (own) children would not qualify because their salaries were too high, they said they were not going to help. They began throwing aggressive questions - wouldn't the school be elitist, take people out of the community?"
o This article was originally published on page 4 of Saturday Star on July 22, 2006
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=79&art_id=vn20060722092300353C877499&set_id=1
