Johannesburg - A former Pinegrove Primary School teacher has accused the school of targeting and vilifying him for pointing out incidents of maladministration and racism at the former model C school in Springs, Ekurhuleni.
Farai Botha, who was a Grade 7 science and social sciences teacher at the school until September, told The Star it all started in 2017 when he pointed out nepotism, race-based discrimination and other issues at the school.
Botha has accused the school of withholding his bonus for 2017 as punishment for his stance against maladministration, racism and nepotism, which he said had been left unattended to for a long time. This included the alleged employment of white student teachers without qualifications while black people were not afforded the opportunity to work at the school as student teachers without qualifications.
“After pointing out some of these issues, I immediately became a threat and subsequently a target and a victim... and after they failed to successfully accuse me of sexual harassment, a new plan was hatched to get rid of me. I was dismissed for executing corporal punishment, which I was not the only teacher who practised this, but they eventually succeeded in getting me fired on this charge,” Botha told The Star.
Botha said he was fired in September. He said he had been enquiring about his 2017 bonus for years, with the school governing body (SGB) unable to explain the non-payment.
“It all started when I complained to the then principal, Mr Brits and to the SGB that Sars have penalised me after demanding over R50 000 in payments. The fault was with the school who were not calculating PAYE correctly. My argument was I am just an employee and I have no control over PAYE ... As a result, I have paid Sars over R100 000 over and above normal tax.
“Sars intercepted my pension and provident fund. I complained a lot about it and that’s when they started to find ways of getting rid of me,” he said.
He also said the school discriminated against him on the basis of his race and even though he won the school numerous academic and sports accolades, he had never been given recognition for his achievements, while claiming that this credit was given to white teachers.
The former teacher said the school had more than five employees who were related who were employed without following proper procedures and at times, without the prerequisite qualifications and experience.
“I became very vocal on matters of racism and nepotism.”
The Gauteng Department of Basic Education said the matters raised by Botha required a multi-stakeholder response as they touched on issues of human resources and other stakeholders. Attempts to speak to members of the SGB were also unsuccessful.
“We have noticed that the matters raised are not only on alleged nepotism for R&S to respond, but also for HRTS in relation to the alleged unpaid pension and unpaid bonus of Mr Farai Botha.
“To be able to respond ... I would want more information ...” the department said in a statement.
The Star