A new twist has emerged in the Crowthorne Christian Academy saga with its member association claiming that Gauteng education authorities were misleading the public by saying that the school was operating illegally.

Mandla Mthembu, chief operating officer of education association Accelerated Education Enterprises (AEE), said on Tuesday, 22 August, that the school’s owners had evidently gone into hiding following statements by political parties, including the EFF.

The school’s Midrand campus is at the centre of an alleged racial incident where a learner was barred from entering a classroom because of her hairstyle and allegedly had her hair pulled by a school official.

Mthembu said Crowthorne, an independent school, has a main campus in Pretoria and has been affiliated with AEE for more than a decade.

Daily Maverick approached AEE to ask about the whereabouts of the school’s owners following a statement by the Gauteng education department on Friday, 18 August, that they were nowhere to be found.

The department had announced on Friday that it was willing to assist families to move their children to nearby schools. The Midrand campus has been closed indefinitely.

Its closure came after a video went viral of a 13-year-old learner being refused entry into a classroom because of her hairstyle on Monday, 14 August by school official Andries Hendrick Booysen (51).

Booysen also allegedly pulled the learner by her dreadlocks.

He was arrested and appeared in the Midrand Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 17 August, where he was granted R2,000 bail.

Only two families have requested that the department move their children from the school.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Crowthorne Christian Academy silent while second family seeks Gauteng education department help

Mthembu said the school’s main campus in Pretoria is registered. Only the Midrand campus, he said, is not yet registered.

The department stated on Friday that when officials visited the Midrand campus – to which the school had moved without permission – on Thursday, 17 August, the owners had locked the gates and were not responding to communications.

Mthembu said he had been communicating with the school’s owners and an official within the department dealing with independent schools.

“This is a misleading allegation that requires verification. There are many schools in South Africa that operate without an EMIS number due to the administrative injustice associated with the process of securing such a number,” Mthembu said. A unique Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) number is assigned by the Department of Education to all schools. 

Mthembu said administrative injustice meant a decision taken by the government that might have an adverse impact on the entity against which it was taken.

Mthembu said that in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 2000, an affected entity had to be informed about a decision that would negatively affect it, before it was taken.

“There are many schools which find themselves in a position where they operate without being registered because provincial departments do not respond to their application,” Mthembu said.

He said provincial education departments were supposed to respond to applications within three months of the application.

New schools advertised spaces, and families enrolled their children the following year. Later on, these schools ended up suffering economic challenges because of being tainted as operating illegally, despite having applied.

“This is the case with even this one,” Mthembu said.

Mthembu said that according to AEE records, the school was indeed registered with the department. “The high school has moved to new premises [Midrand campus] and that site is currently in the administrative process of securing an EMIS number for that specific site,” he said.

Despite the registration contradictions, Mthembu said the department had tried to assist the school.

“We can’t blame the government. They acted professionally and went to the school to try to help them to register [the campus].”

AEE’s role

Mthembu said the school used AEE’s curriculum, purchased its teaching and learning materials and subscribed to its guidelines.

“In addition, they receive support services which include policy and advisory services, which means that schools are provided with advice with regards to matters related to policies, policy compliance, legislation and regulations in the schooling sector.”

While AEE offered support to member schools, Mthembu said the organisation could not insist that a school implemented the advice. He said AEE did not control the efficiency of implementation at the school.

‘We’d investigate’

Mthembu said AEE was expecting a report from the school to explain what happened during the incident and would investigate.

“AEE absolutely condemns any prejudicial behaviour including racism that may take place at any AEE association member school.”

He said the association was committed to assisting parties towards a restorative solution that facilitated empathy. AEE, he said, also abided by the Constitution and was against discriminatory practices.

Mthembu said the AEE had engaged with Crowthorne on the incident.

“AEE would like to assure the community that we are aware of the incident and view it as a serious matter. We are taking action within the context of the school being an AEE association member,” Mthembu said.

He said the organisation had been involved in this sector for 39 years and served schools across the continent. It was committed to the upliftment of society throughout Africa through Christian education, he said.

‘Owners in hiding’

Mthembu said the owners had indicated that they were frightened following a visit from EFF members last week and had gone into hiding.

“We note that various political parties have been drawn into the matter via social media and have reported inflammatory speech that is designed to stir up hatred. This is the misuse of children’s rights,” he said.

The AEE, he said, would not enter any debate that was aligned with any political agenda associated with the matter.

Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department was unaware of any open communication with AEE. He said the department regarded schools operating without an EMIS registration certificate to be operating illegally.

“The department dealt with Crowthorne Christian Academy’s case as it was reported, accordingly,” Mabona said.

He said all schools that were reported by the public or identified by the department to be operating without the EMIS registration certificate were shut down indefinitely.

“It is also important to note that schools can only operate after receiving a registration EMIS certificate. However, upon investigation, the said school was found to be operating illegally.”

He confirmed that only the main campus in Pretoria, which was situated in Centurion, was registered. DM