Durban primary school principal has been ordered to remove surveillance cameras

A Durban school principal has been given an ultimatum to remove surveillance cameras from his school, or face the wrath of the department of education. Teachers at Roseland Primary School in Newlands have refused to teach until the cameras are gone and no schooling has taken place for two months.

The security cameras were installed to ensure the safety of both teachers and learners. However, the teachers accused the principal of spying on them and downed tools. The education department says it has had enough.

Meanwhile the cameras were de-activated three weeks ago - but the teachers say this is not enough. They want them gone. Parents say the provincial education department has failed the learners. Now they want Education Minister Naledi Pandor to intervene.

However it is expected that surveillance cameras will soon become a permanent feature in many more schools around the country. A ministerial progress report, focusing on the nine worst affected schools in terms of crime and violence, indicate these and other security measures will be extended to hundreds of schools in the next two years.