Monwabisi Ngotya, 45, an educator at Weltervreden Valley Core Primary School, in Samora Machel and his principal are at loggerheads, after the former was suspended, on trumped up allegations of ‘sexual misconduct’ against learners.
Ngotya blames his head for levelling the wildfire accusations against him. He is also accusing the principal of a litany of misdeeds at the school.
Instead, he says, all he did was to challenge the principal’s authority after he(principal) granted signing powers to former members of School Governing Body (SGB).
After a disciplinary hearing, Ngotya was suspended by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) last month.
Ngotya, who is also a member of the SGB, said the head of school could not take it well after he tconfronted about his “fraudulent” actions regarding the funds of the school.
“He does want to be challenged by anyone for his wrong actions. He is an autocratic and stubborn person. He let former members of SGB to sign cheques, which is a fraud. He also replaced 14 teachers who left the school without consulting the SGB. Those teachers left the school because they were tired of his management style. He would lock the staff toilet.
I want the department (of education) to take action against him. He falsely accused me of sexually assaulting learners, but there is no case opened with the police against me,” Ngotya said.
Ngotya said he only bought some soft drinks for the learners whom he is accused of sexually assaulting as a token of appreciation for their diligent work.
However, the principal said he would only respond to the accusations of the suspended staff member once the disciplinary hearing was over.
“The fact that he is suspended it means there is a case against him.”
Millicent Merton, the Director of Communication for (WCED) said Ngotya was suspended after learners contacted WCED in July to inform them about the allegations.
“They alleged that the educator made inappropriate advances to learners and showered them with gifts.
The WCED is not aware of the allegations against the principal. We have checked our records and have not found any reports of misconduct referred to in the inquiry.
Disciplinary action against employees is separate and independent of criminal matters.”
