THE Sanctor Primary School in Port Elizabeth may soon have a permanent principal after a court order was granted in its favour for the district education department to hand over candidates’ application forms for interviewing and short-listing to take place.
The school – which last had a permanent principal in 2009 – has been embroiled in a messy battle with the department over its "blatant interference” in the appointment of a principal.
In 2010, the school governing body put forward its preferred candidate for the principalship, but a departmental official changed the name on the form and put in that of the department’s preferred candidate – delaying the process.
This resulted in the school’s preferred candidate losing interest and leaving the profession. The process then started from scratch as the post was readvertised.
The department obstructed the new process by hanging on to the application forms of the candidates the governing body was meant to short-list and interview.
The court ordered on Thursday that the department hand over the candidates’ application forms so that the governing body could finally carry on with the interview process and approve a candidate.
