Tebogo Monama

Tebogo Monama

The Gauteng education department has kicked out the entire management of the worst-performing district in the province.

Sedibeng West's lousy mid-year matric results and the brutality of a teacher who branded 23 kids with a hot knife prompted the department's action.

"What happened at the school was the straw that broke the camel's back," said the Gauteng education MEC's spokesman, Panyaza Lesufi, pictured.

"The department has released the entire management from their duties."

The department's Nanagolo Leopeng said yesterday: "The whole district has been redeployed within the department and Ephraim Mpoku Tau will in the interim act as the district director."

He said the department's performance review showed that the district had been performing poorly for three years.

Lesufi said the June matric examinations indicated that pupils in the district were doing even worse than expected.

"We have been looking at the district and their mid-term matric results don't show any signs of getting better," Lesufi said.

"They are, in fact, worse."

Coupled with the branding issue at Letsema Ilima Primary, the department felt it had to take drastic action to ensure hope for improvement .

Leopeng said: "The teacher is still in hospital and as soon as she is released the department will formulate charges of misconduct against her."