Please allow me to respond to the letter of Cornelius Engelbrecht in the Friday 13 January edition of the New Era. I have been a parent of Minna Sachs PS for a couple of years and transferred my children to another school in town. I did it for exactly the reasons that Engelbrecht is trying to hide in his letter. He is now attacking the characters of the Regional Education Officials and in doing so trying to hide the fact that the school has been one of poor performance for as long as I have been a parent. I still recall how a class of children, of whom one was my sister’s child, was put back for a year because of poor teaching. I agree in one aspect with him and that is that the Regional Office has failed us in changing the image that Minna Sachs is a Nama school. Being a parent, I have the same notion and stand to be corrected that Minna Sachs is indeed not on par with the schools in town. However, I must state that I am not convinced that Engelbrecht has been moving the earth since his appointment at the school. He has the opportunity to change the face of the school, but what is he waiting for? Personal attacks and agendas will bring us nowhere, except our dedication to the school and the community. I have nothing to say to the Regional Office, but wish to state that name-calling will not help our children. If you have something to say to your supervisors at the Regional Office, be a man and face them, no need to use a public forum to debate a school issue. If you want to run for office (whatever office) your credibility as a dedicated worker will be your passport, not how much you despise your leadership. I will personally vote for you if you show the qualities that you have mentioned in your letter. So far, I must say your innuendos, malicious intent, rumour-mongering and untruthfulness is not much to go by. I know you and your company and I hope you will be able to discuss the matters at hand in a proper meeting to be attended by Ministry officials and the school community. I suppose that you will not be too unwilling to arrange such a meeting at your school. I am hopeful that the Regional Office will indeed be able to challenge you on the issues without bias and intimidation. Remember, that one should be able to follow before one can be a leader. Teachers do not need your protection. They have the Ombudsman’s office, courts, unions, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Minister, and so on. Those that are aggrieved should be able to find proper assistance. Mr Engelbrecht, you and your company please use your energy to build the school and community and not to divide us further. If you are serious, you ought to be able to make a difference without any interference from the Region. J J Jossob Keetmanshoop