Tom Clarke's article "How we actually dealt with alleged initiation abuses" (The Star, June 16) fails to justify his handling of the Parktown Boys' High debacle, and proves that Pene Kimber's accusations are true.
Mr Clarke makes it obvious that his first action was to minimise the incident and sweep it under the carpet.
Look at his own time line: Mr Clarke learnt of the incident on February 9 from a victim's parent; on the 11th his subordinate informed parents of the affected children by e-mail; and on the 13th, without making the investigation that would have revealed the horrifying extent of the bullying, Clarke gave the perpetrators a slap on the wrist.
Not until the courageous Ms Kimber confronted him on the 16th did Mr Clarke learn "that the incident was more serious than (he) originally thought". Even when The Star exposed the cover-up on the 17th he tried to confuse the issue by accusing Ms Kimber of pursuing a vendetta against the school. Only when he had no other choice did he investigate and punish the bullies adequately.
The fiasco resulted from a failure in school management. The head boy was badly selected, the hostel teachers ignored departmental regulations and the hostel head failed to supervise his staff and charges properly.
But the worst failure of all was that of Mr Clarke.
The failures of the staff members were largely ones of omission. Mr Clarke's failure was one of commission; as head of the school, he chose to ignore his duty to investigate fully, punish the perpetrators appropriately and reassure parents. Instead, he tried to cover up the incident. Thanks to Ms Kimber, this failed. Mr Clarke - not Ms Kimber - is responsible for the opprobrium heaped on the school.
Michael Mellody
Emmarentia, Joburg
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