Mmolotsi, Dow clash over Matsha head suspension
Tefo Pheage | Wednesday November 25, 2015 16:36
Seven Matsha College students were killed and at least 120 others injured recently, after a truck they were travelling in overturned. The accident has drawn criticism of the continued transportation of public school learners in trucks.
Describing the suspension as “unfortunate” Mmolotsi said Dow instead should have been suspended instead of “making the poor headmaster the scapegoat of her failures”.
“We all know that she is the one who should have been suspended as the custodian of our education and everything under it,” Mmolotsi said in Parliament. “Instead, she has decided to shift the blame to the powerless.” Deputy Speaker, Kagiso Molatlhegi, however reprimanded Mmolotsi saying he should follow procedure if he wanted to raise the issue in the National Assembly.
Just as the issue appeared to have ended, a visibly emotional Dow rose on a point of order and blasted Mmolotsi, accusing him of seeking media headlines and sensationalising the incident.
She said: “You cannot just rise from nowhere and throw such an issue before Parliament. You know that what you are doing is nothing but a statement meant to feed the media, you should not do that. You are raising that because you want to make newspaper headlines.”
In the process, Dow attracted a tongue-lashing from Molatlhegi who accused her of distracting Parliament from its business with her response.
The headmaster of Matsha College, Phodiso Phori, was reported to have been suspended last week amid allegations that the education ministry was pointing a finger at him for allowing the truck to transport the students instead of using safer means.