Pretoria - Teacher and principal posts must be frozen in
some provinces, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Monday at the
release of an interim report about the alleged selling of teachers' posts.
Motshekga said she would meet with education MECs of
different provinces to see if teacher and principal posts could be frozen until
a final report was released by the task team.
So far, the Minister's Task Team report has confirmed:
- That there is corrupt and undue influence in the
appointment of teachers and principals;
- There are weaknesses in the appointment system of the
basic education department;
- The authority of the state and powers of certain
stakeholders need to be reviewed with regards to appointments.
Motshekga said that while she did not have the right to
freeze posts without consulting education MECs and education officials, some
provinces would have to prove to her why she should not freeze posts, as
corruption was rife.
These provinces include the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga,
Limpopo, North West and KwaZulu-Natal.
Objections from the remaining four provinces - Free State
Province, Northern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng - could be taken into
consideration by the minister as they had demonstrated clear lines on
appointment policy, the minister told journalists.
The investigation by the MTT comes after a damning report by
City Press into allegations that members of the South African Democratic
Teachers Union (Sadtu) and department officials were involved in selling
teacher and principal posts.
- Read more: Sadtu selling principals' posts in exchange for cows, sheep and goats
Motshekga said she wanted to thank City Press for their
report, which led to the investigation.
