Pretoria principal punished again

SANCTION: ERASMUS SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY

- Marizka Coetzer

The suspension without pay of the principal of Pretoria High School for Girls for letting her husband assist with maintaining the school gardens without compensation has been described as absurd and unfair.

DA Gauteng shadow MEC for education Sergio Isa Dos Santos said finding Philippa Erasmus guilty shows a department more focused on saving face than on achieving justice or improving educational outcomes.

"We call on Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane to reverse this decision and put an end to the ongoing harassment and humiliation of this dedicated principal," he said.

"This outcome reinforces our consistent assertion that under Matome, the department will go to great lengths to justify its political vendetta against Erasmus."

Dos Santos said the Gauteng department of education's persecution of Erasmus, who has now been found guilty on a "frivolous charge" because her husband Mike volunteered to assist with landscaping, was "unacceptable and delays progressive learning and teaching at the school".

Dos Santos said the initial investigation focused on allegations of racism, for which she was cleared.