Durban - A Chesterville school is struggling to cope on the eve of the end-of-year exams because the community is refusing to allow 12 teachers cleared in a sex-for-marks scandal to return to class.
Mkhumbane High School, with 945 pupils, has had to make do with just 20 teachers - including unqualified volunteers - since last year.
This emerged at a KZN legislature education portfolio committee oversight meeting in Durban on Tuesday, where the education department’s Umkhumbane circuit manager, Muzi Khumalo, briefed MPLs.
Khumalo confirmed the suspensions of the 12 had been lifted after no-one came forward to give evidence against them. He said they continued to be paid by the provincial education department.
The school’s principal, Ntokozo Ngobese, was suspended in February for bringing the department into disrepute by failing to take directives from it, but instead listening to the school governing body.
Khumalo told the committee the principal had continued to report to school despite his suspension.
The department’s Umlazi district director, Bheki Ntuli, said an investigation into the school had found only one school employee - a woman - guilty. “The real culprits were not suspended. During the disciplinary hearing nobody led evidence, so we had to uplift the suspension,” he said.
The school had acquire the services of nine volunteers to fill in for the 12, but the district office was concerned that the volunteers were not accountable to the department as they were not employed by it nor did they have binding contracts.
Ntuli said the situation was far from ideal, but they were “comforted” in that they were on course to complete the curriculum.
Provincial education spokesman, Muzi Mahlambi, said it was unfortunate that the 12 teachers could not return to the school as they were intimidated by the community.
He said the teachers could not be replaced as they were still on the school’s payroll.
He said the 12 were meanwhile fulfilling other duties within the department and were not enjoying a free salary.
“We have a situation where they have been cleared and now they say they have been intimidated. Now we have a problem because their paypoint still says Mkhumbane.
“This is why volunteers have had to come in, and this is unfortunate because we are now casualising our education, because some of them are not qualified teachers,” he said.
He urged the community to leave the matter in the department’s hands and confirmed that none of the girls who had allegedly traded sex for marks had appeared at the hearings.
Khumalo said the school governing body had recently held an election and the situation appeared normal.
Committee member, Mbali Fraser, MPL, said it was problematic that the school was being run by people not accountable to the department.
“Who is paying their stipend? Who is doing quality assurance there? Legal services don’t seem to be assisting the department.
“The legal component needs to be understood; it’s either we have them or we don’t.”
Jomo Sibiya, MPL, said a school of 945 pupils could not rely on 20 teachers. He said disadvantaged pupils at the school were being let down.
“The nine volunteers are not teachers, that is a reality. The principal cannot be suspended and still go on to report at the school. This is not a banana republic,” he said.
Daily News