The IFP, as the Official Opposition in the KZN Legislature, demands that the KZN MEC for Education, Mbali Frazer, release the investigation report into allegations of bribery levelled against a school principal at Nkongolwane Primary School in Vryheid. The principal allegedly gave SGB members R120 000, as well as three cattle. It is further alleged that an additional R80 000 was paid for a deputy principal’s post.
On 28 September 2023, during the KZN Legislature Sitting, the IFP raised a motion on this matter, calling for MEC Frazer to investigate these serious allegations. It is evident that the process of selecting candidates for appointment in the education sector is riddled with inconsistencies. There needs to be an urgent review of the process.
Previously, the issue of the selling of teacher posts prompted the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to appoint a Ministerial Task Team, chaired by John Volmink, which made a series of recommendations for ending union influence in appointments. KZN was also mentioned among the provinces that were rocked by the ‘jobs for sale’ scandal. The Ministerial Task Team’s Report advised that criminal charges be laid in 38 of the 81 cases it investigated, where evidence of criminality had been uncovered.
The selling of teacher posts compromises the quality of education in schools where incompetent people are appointed as teachers, rather than appointments being made on merit.
Further, the Minister of Basic Education gazetted the Standards for Principals on 18 March 2016, Gazette No. 39827, which was meant to ensure school principal competency tests.
As the IFP, we demand the following answers from MEC Frazer:
- How many teachers in KZN have been employed illegally, including those who paid bribes?
- In the past three years, how many teachers have been dismissed and blacklisted after being found guilty of being employed illegally?
- How will the Department retrieve taxpayers’ money from those found to have been illegally employed as teachers?
The IFP will write to MEC Frazer and demand that she releases the report within 14 working days. Should she fail to release the report, we will use the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to force her to make the report public.
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Contact
Mrs Thembeni Kamadlopha-Mthethwa MPL
IFP KZN Provincial Spokesperson for Education
071 884 3844 / 079 114 3015