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News24 reports that a Cape Town principal who was dismissed for defying an instruction to open his school during the Covid-19 pandemic is fighting tooth and nail to get his job back.
Wesley Neumann, the former headmaster of Heathfield High School, was in the Cape Town Labour Court (LC) on Wednesday in a bid to overturn a finding by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) confirming his dismissal in June 2023. He filed a review application in the LC in July 2023 and the matter was deliberated last week. The popular Cape Town teacher, who has a huge fan club supporting him in his fight for reinstatement, was dismissed by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) on 20 May 2022 after being found guilty on five charges of misconduct. Among the charges was the failure to carry out a lawful order after being instructed by the head of department at the time, Brian Schreuder, to ensure that every Grade 12 pupil and parent was informed in writing that Grade 12 pupils must be physically present at school from 3 August 2020 until the time they completed their final exams. After being found guilty, Neumann lodged an appeal with then-Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schafer and was offered the option of accepting a demotion to the post of head of department, which he declined. In court papers, Neumann stated that while many educators participated in a campaign to close schools, he was the only employee to face disciplinary charges. The WCED argued that the arbitrator had found Neumann's dismissal to be procedurally and substantively fair.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Prega Govender at News24
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