Sadtu hits back after cash-for-teachers report

Johannesburg – Education department officials are the corrupt ones, not Sadtu, a senior union official claimed on Sunday.

But this allegation was rejected by an education spokesperson, who told News24 this was impossible.

The SA Democratic Teachers Union came out strongly against the basic education department on Sunday, accusing senior officials of being involved in a jobs-for-cash syndicate.

Sadtu's General Secretary John Maluleke told News24 that high ranking officials in the education department had either accepted bribes or used undue influence to appoint teachers and principals.

Maluleke told News24 that Sadtu had reported the syndicate to the department of education long before City Press reported on the jobs-for-cash racket but nothing had been done. 

This comes after Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga released an interim report on Thursday about an investigation that followed a damning exposé by the City Press newspaper that appeared to implicate the union in nationwide selling of teaching posts. 

Sadtu was also fingered as the main culprit in the education department report. Motshekga said she was aware of the strength of unions and that in some provinces, Sadtu appeared to control the government.

According to the report, government systems have allowed an exploitation of the system, which compromised proper appointments of critical teaching posts.

The report goes on to say that Sadtu has a "stranglehold" on government, whereby they call the shots.
But on Sunday, Maluleka claimed the education department was the real culprit.

"This scam doesn't only end with principals and union members selling posts on the ground, this syndicate goes to the top offices in the department," he told News24.

Maluleka denied allegations that the union was in control of most of the country's education departments. He said the education department was making Sadtu the scapegoat.

"Sadtu is not corrupt. It is certain individuals who are members of the union that are tarnishing our name. Our members are deployed as public servants like any other union.

"The education department must not use us as a scapegoat if they are failing to implement their own policies. We know that high ranking officials in the department of education are involved in this scam and we have reported this.

"Sadtu has always been a useful scapegoat for the department of education," Maluleka said.

Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said it would be impossible for high ranking education officials to use their powers to appoint teachers.

He said teacher appointments were made by provincial and district officials.

"The department of education is not involved in the appointment of teachers... that alone would make it difficult for Pretoria to have any influence in any provinces.

"What we have found is arrangements that are made in districts. I don't see how they would be involved," Mahlanga told News24.

This article first appeared on News24 – see here.