Speaker, the Department of Basic Education recognises the importance of principals in terms of them being professional leaders and managers of the institutions. More often than not, where a school performs, achieves and functions well, it is attributed to the ability of the principal to manage that particular institution.
To this end, the Department of Basic Education has ensured that more than 1 300 principals and deputy principals are being trained in the current financial year. The curriculum content in relation to the training programme includes the ability of the principal to interact with communities, to communicate efficiently, to implement the curriculum, to ensure that there is proper financial and fiscal management and to develop democratisation processes within the institution.
The department fully supports the view that we would not encourage, under any circumstances, arbitrary evictions of principals or deputy principals, but also says, in very general terms, that it is important for principals to ensure that they interact effectively and efficiently with communities and that they liaise very closely with the governing bodies of institutions.
The MECs for education have in the past responded very efficiently, as has Barbara Creecy in Gauteng in relation to the problems that she has encountered in the particular school. So we support fully the view that no community should take the law into its own hands and that it should support or initiate due process in this regard. Thank you.