Some parents of learners attending Manenberg High School allege their children were turned away from school because they were not wearing the school’s proper uniform.
The group of parents have shared that they send their children to school with what they have because school uniforms are expensive and they just can’t afford it.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen the rate at which people were being laid-off from work, adding to an already high unemployment rate.
Manenberg High School Principal Cameron Williams said he has taken the tough economic experiences of many people into consideration.
In an interview, Williams refuted the claims made against him and has clarified:
We allow learners to wear a plain navy jersey, the school doesn’t have a jersey of their own, so we go for the plain navy jersey that is very affordable.
It is said that the school staff members work together in buying complete school uniform sets for learners in need. Williams explained that his approach is instilling a level of discipline, uniformity and social equality, prioritising it for all people.
At the beginning of the year, the Competition Tribunal had ordered school uniforms to be available at most retail stores, which then will be easy on the consumers pocket due to school uniforms being expensive for parents to purchase.
Learners' late coming was amongst the few things that the Principal disapproved of, he has also shared that he does have strict rules in some respects, whilst maintaining a good relationship with the school learners.
According to reports, over the past three years of being Principal, the school went from a 30% pass rate to approximately 60% last year and Williams has plans to improve the schools performance further.
