Mpumalanga education head Faith Sithole prepares to file High Court interdict to fight her dismissal.
JUSTIN ARENSTEIN reports
OUSTED Mpumalanga education head Faith Sithole will file for an urgent High Court interdict to reverse her dismissal, her attorneys said on Wednesday.
Sithole was fired from government “in the interests of learners and the general public” by education MEC Craig Padayachee on January 14. Padayachee only announced the dismissal on Tuesday and has since has refused to say exactly why Sithole was fired, except that her performance during the 1998 matric exam scandal had been wanting.
The scandal saw an unspecified number of education officials conspire to fraudulently boost the provincial matric pass rate by 20%, from 52% to 72%, in an apparent bid for political and professional glory. Over 7 000 pupils who should have failed were issued with matric certificates as a result, while 2 000 pupils were irregularly issued university exemptions.
Sithole was suspended for her alleged role in the scam in June 1998, along with provincial examinations director Gogo Ndlovana and educational specialist Kate Mokone.
Goldman Judin Attorneys said on Wednesday the department neglected to ever draw up formal charges against Sithole and had acted illegally when it terminated her services without a proper disciplinary hearing. “The dismissal indicates a complete disregard for the laws of the country and is clearly an attempt to avoid our Labour Court application to set aside her suspension,” said attorney Shaheem Samsodien.
The Labour Court had already ordered the province to delay a scheduled disciplinary hearing on December 2 until it had provided formal charges and further particulars. The Labour Court ordered the government to provide the particulars for a final ruling on whether the suspension should be withdrawn on Tuesday.
The education department instead presented a letter terminating Sithole’s services to the court this week. “This is a clear violation of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act and the Public Service Act. It is ridiculous that government promulgates laws and then violates them as it pleases,” said Samsodien.
Sithole’s High Court application will be filed early next week and may be accompanied by civil action for defamation, he added.
Education spokesman, Peter Maminza, declined to give specific reasons for Sithole’s dismissal on Wednesday except to insist that the move was in the public’s best interests. “We have dismissed Sithole and that is the end of the issue as far as we are concerned. She is, however, fully within her Constitutional rights to seek any form of legal recourse she wishes to,” he said.
— African Eye News Service, January 20, 2000.