Times Of Swaziland: UPROAR AFTER SOS PUPILS PAY  E200 EACH FOR ‘CHEAP FOOD’

UPROAR AFTER SOS PUPILS PAY  E200 EACH FOR ‘CHEAP FOOD’
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BY NTOMBI MHLONGO on 03/12/2018 07:22:00


MBABANE -What was meant to be a perfect farewell celebration for Grade VII
pupils of SOS Hermann Gmeiner School has left a bitter taste in the mouths of
their parents.
This is because the parents are aggrieved that their children ate what they have
termed cheap food despite that they had paid so much money for the party.
About E200 was paid by each parent for the 98 pupils who attended the party
three weeks ago.
The parents, after seeing photos of the food that was served to the pupils were 
disappointed as they felt it was not worth the money they paid.
It has been gathered that the parents then discussed the issue and agreed that a
delegation, comprising about three of them, should be sent to the school to
demand answers on what exactly happened. The agreement was that if the response
from the administration was not satisfactory, the delegation should just ask for
a refund.
Last week, the delegation did meet with the Head teacher, Linda Thwala, to
demand answers.
One parent interviewed by this newspaper minced no words saying what the school
had done was shocking.
The female parent, who asked not to be named, said the school promised them a
lot including proper food for their children.
“It is not fair. The takeaways that were given to our children were just not
up to standard.  They looked cheap with no curry or vegetables. Since nothing
has happened so far in terms of getting a refund, we are ready to take the
matter to the Ministry of Education and Training,” she said. This newspaper
gathered that the takeaways for the pupils were provided by a popular restaurant
which operates in the capital city and that each takeaway cost E110.
Another parent stated that there was no way that the food given to their
children would cost E110.
“I have been to the restaurant countless times to buy food and from what I
have seen the most expensive cost between E35 or E40, which is usually the
mutton curry. My child only ate rice, one piece of chicken and two types of
salads and that cannot cost so much,” she said.
When asked if they had visited the restaurant, the parents said they saw no need
since they were not its clients.
“The restaurant’s client is the school and not us so that is why we
approached the administration. I want my money because I believe what my child
was given is not worth what I paid,” a parent said.
Payment slips in this newspaper’s possession reveal that the school paid about
E15 000 just for the food at the popular eatery.
Called for comment, the head teacher confirmed that he had been visited by some
of the aggrieved parents.
“They came to me and I explained to them. We agreed that perhaps the committee
that was tasked with organising the event was still to compile a report.
“When such an event is organised, it is the class teachers that do most of the
job and my task is to just approve,” Thwala said. He mentioned that he had a
problem with the fact that he was now being blamed when in actual fact he was
not the one who cooked the food.
“Right now we are in disagreement because the food that was delivered was not
up to standard. I have presented the parents with all receipts so that they can
see that everything was done openly. So I would suggest that if they are
aggrieved, we can come together collectively and go to the restaurant to get the
answers that they want,” he said.
Thwala highlighted that the parents were welcome to visit him again in the event
that they were still not convinced.