SA teachers are leaving in droves

Schools are a battleground where rogue parents make their lives a living hell

- WENDY JASSON DA COSTA, ANITA NKONKI and TRACY-LYNN RUITERS

PARENTAL aggression has pushed already-stretched teachers past their limits, forcing many to leave the profession, and in some cases, the country. Experts warn that schools are becoming battlegrounds, where parents lash out at staff, use verbal and physical abuse and send threatening calls or emails. Sometimes they even confront teachers directly.

Thirona Moodley of the teachers' union Naptosa says the situation is unbearable. "Parents are stepping out of their lanes and engaging with the school on issues that are out of their mandate. They come in like bulldozers ... " she says.

Many parents, she says, are bypassing formal channels. Rather than lodging complaints with principals or school governing bodies, they evade security and go straight into classrooms, leaving teachers fearful and occasionally in danger.

"Children are very active in making false accusations, and then the parents respond. They support their children and don't want to hear negative comments or reports about their conduct."

The aggression spans both public and private schools, though it takes different forms.

"In private schools, parents tend to be more hands-on and more critical of teachers. Even small issues, like where a child is asked to sit, can become a problem. Some feel entitled because they pay high school fees and believe they deserve to demand accountability from teachers. Parents do have a right to engage in their children's education, but how they do it, matters."

According to Moodley, teachers increasingly feel powerless because of laws protecting children, which make it difficult to chastise or penalise them for misbehaviour.