The Gauteng department of education says it has launched an investigation into allegations of school funds disappearing and some staff being unpaid for months at Pholosho Junior Secondary School in Alexandra, Johannesburg.
Sowetan sent the department detailed questions on Thursday about allegations of poor management, leadership squabbles, non payment of staff and administrative chaos at the school.
Among the questions we asked included:
- If the department was aware of cleaners, security and other staff not being paid their salaries?
- If it was aware of the alleged disappearance of more than R600,000 from the school bank account?
- How has the alleged disappearance of the school funds affected the day-to-day functioning of the school and its ability to meet daily operational needs?
- How has the alleged disappearance of the school funds affected pupils who receive meals from the school and what's been done?
- Why school principal Dingaan Kubheka had been placed on suspension and for how long?
- If the department was aware of allegations of the selling of posts at the school?
Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said they were not aware of the allegations.
“As such we have launched an investigation. We will report on the findings thereof at a later stage,” he said. Mabona confirmed that Kubheka was suspended as he was undergoing an investigation.
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Meanwhile, former president Kgalema Motlanthe and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who once attended the school, have expressed shock and sympathy to the family of Qayiya Mgaye, 15, who was stabbed near the school toilets on Monday.
The teenager who is accused of killing Mgaye appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with the fatal stabbing of a schoolmate.
Motlanthe, who confirmed that he had made donations for improvements to the school, said places of learning ought to be nurturing spaces for education, growth and development, where young people can discover themselves, build capacity and unlock their talents.
“As a nation, we need to care more and do more to protect the young. All families, communities and academic institutions should preserve the developmental stages of minors as a time to nourish their intellectual, physical and emotional qualities,” he said. “Partnerships between authorities, schools, communities, families and civil society can create a collective response that puts in place preventive measures and intervene with support systems that position the wellbeing of learners in the centre of the work we do.”
Makgoba, whose trust has been working with the school on various projects including renovations, provision of water tanks, food security and social justice, said he was pained by the incident.
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