ONE of the longest suspended teachers in Gauteng, Meadowlands Secondary School principal Moss Senye says he misses being at school.

Senye and teacher Fancy Phehle were suspended last February for allegedly assaulting a 17-year-old pupil at the school.

They face criminal charges and an internal disciplinary hearing.

Senye said: "I did not know that I was the longest suspended teacher in Gauteng. I miss being at school. I miss assembly and interacting with the community, children and teachers.

"What makes me sad is that the school was not able to achieve the matric pass rate that I had hoped for. I wanted to improve the pass rate (the school obtained a 58% pass rate last year) to 70% but that was not possible because I was on suspension."

Senye said he had spent his time while on suspension on union (South African Democratic Teachers Union) matters.

"Being at home gave me enough time to work on union matters. I have been able to solve teacher problems and advance the union's interests," he said.

The disciplinary hearing against him and Phehle has dragged for months. The department even threatened to give Senye a medical boarding after he claimed he was too sick to attend hearings.

Senye's representative in the hearing, Sadtu regional secretary Ronald Nyathi said: "We don't understand why comrade Moss only went to a disciplinary hearing eight months after he was suspended. The norm is you go to a hearing within three months of being suspended."

- This article was first published in the newspaper on 6 March 2012; published online 9 March 2012