Principal suspended over teaching posts bribery claims

The principal of Magubha Primary in Driekoppies, outside Malalane, Mpumalanga, has been placed on precautionary suspension and is under investigation for allegedly selling teaching posts.

It is alleged that the principal promised jobs to unemployed people who hold teaching qualifications in exchange for money and is believed to have received a total of R70,000 from several people.

“The allegations centre on reports that individuals allegedly paid the principal money in exchange for employment opportunities,” said provincial department of education spokesperson Jasper Zwane.

“The department takes this opportunity to reaffirm that no departmental position is for sale and strongly urge anyone with knowledge of fraudulent or unethical practices related to the filling of posts at any level to report such matters to law enforcement authorities or to departmental officials without hesitation.

“Such actions represent a serious breach of the code of professional ethics and constitute an abuse of public office for personal gain. These matters will be dealt with decisively, in accordance with the law, to protect the integrity of our education system and uphold the highest standards of public service.”

The teachers who paid for teaching posts, and other community members, apparently held the principal hostage. One of them, said she had hoped that she would get work.

“This man promised that if I pay R30,000 I would get a permanent job. But I only had R20,000 and gave it to him. He kept saying he would call me but never did until I heard that other people have also paid him,” she said.

The woman who asked not to be named added: "We [she and other victims] then decided to go to the school to demand our monies. He didn't have a lot of money because we got something like over R10,000 from him. He promised to pay us back but now that the department has suspended him, we don't know where he is.”

SA Democratic Teachers Union's (Sadtu) provincial secretary, Walter Hlayise, said the principal was a member of the union. 

“Sadtu has nothing to do with the selling of posts. What happened was that the principal was taken to a certain class where the members of the community talked to him. We only became aware of what the issue was later. Let the investigation from the department take place,” said Hlayise. 

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