Aggrieved parent 'wanted school fee discount', says suspended Schweizer-Reneke teacher

Suspended Schweizer-Reneke teacher Elana Barkhuizen has taken a jab at one of the black parents who was offended by the supposed segregated seating of grade R pupils.

In her court papers asking for her suspension to be ruled unlawful, she indicated the father had a dispute with the school and her even before the start of the new school year on January 9.

She said the father had asked her about obtaining a 10% discount in school fees in early January.

This was a discount that some learners were historically entitled to receive. She agreed to check with school administrators, and was advised that it no longer applied. She conveyed this to him.

"He expressed his dissatisfaction."

Barkhuizen said she advised him that he could refer his query to the school board.

After she had shared the photos on WhatsApp on January 9, he telephoned her and expressed "a clear irritation" about what he referred to as a clear separation of the black pupils from the white pupils in one of four photos she had shared with parents.

She said he did not accept her explanations, including that the photo he was objecting to was taken in a different class from hers, that seating was often fluid on the first day and that children were moved around as their individual requirements were assessed.

His admonishment continued until she advised him to contact the headmaster as she needed to focus on her pupils.

In her papers, Barkhuizen said parents were consulted in advance of the school year. She said the seating according to pupils' needs and class layout were among the topics raised. No objections were received. 

Solidarity served court papers on the North West education MEC, the North West department of education and on Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke and its governing body on Wednesday night.

The union is bringing an urgent application in the Labour Court in Johannesburg in order to win the teacher's reinstatement. According to Anton van der Bijl, head of labour law services at Solidarity, "there is a very strong case to be argued in Elana’s favour, and we are most confident that the court would also see it in that light".

Van der Bijl said the manner in which Barkhuizen was suspended was in direct contravention of labour law, one reason being that she was not given the opportunity to state her side of the case.

In her statement, she also confirms that she was not the teacher of the class that sparked the controversy.