Northern Park Alterum Partum
Our Lips are Sealed
The “audi alteram partem rule” is a legal term meaning “let the other-side be heard”. This page is intended to acknowledge that every home, school, club or organisation has at some stage, experienced an incident that its members desire had never occurred. Northern Park Primary School is no exception and has, just like many other schools, experienced a number of unfortunate incidents which in some cases have caused reporters, parents and various other people to expose these in news-papers and/or on the internet. Given that the school operates in a country governed by a Constitution, it has accepted that people have a Constitutional Right to their “Freedom of Speech” and can therefore, make all sorts of statements, whether these portray the actual facts or not.
The school is obviously fully aware of all that transpired around these incidents and can therefore, say with great authority, that in all the matters that have been published and/or commented on, only very selective information has been offered. It is therefore, the school’s hope that through this page, the discerning reader will come to understand that:
- The Principal and staff are compelled to make reports only to the Department of Education and it is its spokesperson that makes statements to the press on behalf of the school.
- It is the school’s opinion that people would not go public so irresponsibly, if the school were in fact able to make its own statements to the press. These could include the names of all the parties concerned, the facts behind the incidents, together with the circumstances and/or, the behaviour of the people concerned that brought them to become so unhappy with the management of the school. Regrettably, all too often, people find it appropriate to retaliate by publicly discrediting the school and its staff.
Given that the school is unable to respond to that which has been reported or commented on, it makes a very humble request to its readers to only develop an opinion once they have applied the “audi alteram partem rule”. As soon as our readers have done just this, they have our blessing to formulate their own opinion. Nonetheless, in the mean-time, the school shall continue serving its learners to the very best of its ability.
