Concerns have arisen among parents of children attending the Metsing Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre in Phase 10, Bloemfontein, following allegations that worms have been discovered in food served to their children. Some parents claim that not only have worms been found, but also that there are instances of rotten and stale food being served.
According to a parent who spoke with Free State World, the issue was initially brought to their attention by staff members at the ECD Centre who reported the discovery of worms in food intended for the children. Attempts to communicate with the Matron of the Centre to address these concerns have allegedly been met with evasion, as parents claim she often avoids meetings and is difficult to reach, even allegedly switching off her phone at scheduled times.
The parent alleged that the Matron is hard to get, full of pride, and difficult to get as they tried to set up three meetings with her to no success, and have sent emails to the Department of Education and SANCO to get involved.
According to the parents, the children have allegedly been getting sick.
A teacher who works at the ECD Centre, who spoke to Free State World on condition of remaining anonymous, said the first woman who worked in the kitchen as a cook, and was now fired, allegedly kept telling the Matron about the state of the food. She was replaced by one of the teachers.
The teacher who replaced the first woman and now worked in the kitchen allegedly showed teachers the state of the food and allegedly tried to engage the Matron, but allegedly did not get satisfactory answers from the Matron. Some of the porridge allegedly had worms and ants.
According to the teacher who spoke to Free State World, when they, as teachers, ate food prepared at the ECD Centre, they discovered worms while eating and they woman who cook, kept alerting the Matron of the worms found in food and they escalated the matter to a committee member who told them to bring the matter to the attention of the Department of Education and should back it up with proof.
That’s when the teachers took the videos of the state of the food. The video’s reached parents, and one parent sent it to Free State World. In the video, a staff member narrates what happens at the centre, showing what happens inside the kitchen.
According to the teacher, they showed parents the videos, and an impromptu meeting was held following parents’ receiving the videos. A formal meeting was allegedly requested by parents, which was meant to be attended by staff, but the Matron allegedly kept postponing the meeting.
The teacher added that the working conditions have been horrible, as the Matron allegedly uses her power as a Matron to suppress them.
According to two teachers who spoke to Free State World, Health Inspectors visited the creche following the viral videos and ordered the Matron to throw away stale food and clean the kitchen area.
Speaking to Free State World when contacted for a right of reply, the Matron of the ECD Centre said they held a meeting with parents on 23 April, and the video that went viral was taken by the teachers as part of a setup.
The Matron said health inspectors came and found all in order and the place clean, and the was no problems found by the inspectors. According to the Matron, she said the worms were planted on children’s food by the staff so that the creche could be closed.
The Matron alleges that someone had “lied” to the teachers, telling them that they would take over the creche if the Matron lost it and would be paid a lot of money.
When Free State World asked the Matron about the person who wants to have the Matron’s creche closed, she alleged that a vice-chairperson who is also an auditor from the Department of Education “lied” to her staff.
“They take photos of the children and me, undermining the POPI Act. This needs a court case, and they must be arrested. Inspectors came, and the was no rotten potatoes when health inspectors came. These children (referring to her staff) must be arrested, they took the video without my permission, they didn’t even tell me that they were rotten potatoes,” said the Matron.
Regarding a photo shared with Free State World on Friday, 24 April, showing a worm in the food. The Matron said one of the teachers planted it and put the worm on the potato, which was seen by the cook, and videos were taken.
Speaking to Free State World, the current cook and kitchen Manager at the ECD, whom the Matron asked Free State World to speak to, during its call with the Matron, said the potatoes were rotten when she opened a packaged potato bag, and was not sure if they came from the Matron’s house or were bought when they came to the Creche.
The woman said the inspectors visited the creche and everything has been sorted, even though the porridge had worms before, but all have been sorted following the visit of the health inspectors.
According to the Matron of the Creche, her cook was given training on packaging, food handling, and allegedly issued a certificate of compliance.
She further blamed her staff for planting worms, focusing on one specific teacher who she said planted the worm, as they want to see her creche closed. However, according to the teacher whom the Matron accuses of putting the worm on the potato inside a child’s plate, she said a child was eating and found a worm in her food.
The teacher said they took a photo to show the matron that worms were found following the inspector’s visit, and the picture that she took was not clear. She then put the worm on the potato inside the plate and took a clear picture to show the Matron and her colleagues where present when she took the photo, and they allegedly took photos also.
The Matron said they have CCTV cameras and reviewed it, and have a photo showing the teacher putting the worm on the potato, and the teacher allegedly deleted the CCTV footage, not knowing it’s stored on the server. However, the teacher refuted the claims of deleting CCTV footage, as allegedly the is someone who works with CCTV footage at the ECD.
“They must be arrested. It’s only one potato that was rotten; they should have called me to remove that one rotten potato after it was found. Why should one rotten potato create a case? There is a committee they could have spoken to; they want to see my creche closed,” said the Matron.
She said on 23 April, a parents’ meeting was held where they were given a report, and the teachers did not attend. However, the teachers said they were not told to attend the meeting, as they were only informed that it was a parents’ meeting.
Regarding not attending meetings, the Matron said she did not fail to attend meetings, and the scheduled meeting was the 23 April meeting, which she attended.
According to the teacher, whom the Matron accused of planting a worm on the potato, she refuted allegations of planting worms and said the Matron accused them of bringing worms to the centre and putting them on the food.
The teacher said she once found worms inside her porridge and inside her mouth while eating, and other teachers allegedly did also found worms in their food as they also eat food cooked at the ECD centre.
The teachers refute claims that they have clandestine intentions to overthrow the Matron or to take over her Creche, as they are not interested in it, and allegations of wanting the creche are lies.
On 24 April, five teachers received suspension letters and were suspended with immediate effect and without pay. They are accused of recording videos and sending out messages to parents during working hours without the “consent” of the matron and placing worms in children’s food.
The teachers have been suspended until the finalisation of a disciplinary hearing.
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