The recent award by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) arbitrator, dismissing the principal of Daveyton Skills School, Bertha Letsoele, for not obtaining authorisation from the education department for a school trip which led to the drowning of two pupils, should be welcomed.
However, the process which led to her dismissal shows that there was a stage where Letsoele was suspended for more than three months without any disciplinary action being taken against her.
This led Letsoele to approach the ELRC last year to seek reinstatement. The council found the Gauteng education department guilty of unfair labour practice and ordered that she return to work in February.
After the drowning of Siphamandla Peterson and Sibusiso Sibiya in Hennops River near Centurion in April last year, the department, at a great cost to it, appointed a law firm to investigate circumstances surrounding the boys' deaths.
After a few months, the law firm presented its findings to the department, which found that the principal did not follow the processes contained in regulations to obtain authorisation from the department for that fateful trip.
The law firm recommended in July that disciplinary action be taken against her. The department had transferred her to the district office after the incident, pending a disciplinary hearing which was to take place within 90 days.
When the 90 days lapsed, Letsoele approached the ELRC, arguing that her suspension mounted to an unfair labour practice. The ELRC agreed with her. However, a disciplinary hearing took place in March, and after the department had presented evidence from two witnesses, Letsoele changed her plea to guilty.
Though she claimed remorse, Letsoele maintained during her mitigation that she was unaware of the employer’s policy or the regulation requiring written permission for the trip.
This award will hopefully bring closure to the families of the two boys by knowing someone is held accountable for their children's deaths
Despite changing her plea, the arbitrator at the ELRC dismissed Letsoele after not being convinced that she had shown remorse. The arbitrator said she did not give any motivation why she committed the offence she was charged with and what provoked her decision to change the plea.
“The tears she is shedding are crocodile tears. That by itself makes me conclude that the remorse she is claiming is cosmetic, it is not genuine,” the arbitrator said.
This award will hopefully bring closure to the families of the two boys by knowing someone is held accountable for their children's deaths.
The award should also spur the department to follow up on the progress of other cases where the department had expended resources in appointing law firms to investigate the cause of deaths of pupils. One case which comes to mind is that of Latoya Temilton, a pupil at Laerskool Queenswood in Pretoria who died during a school excursion at Wag ’n Bietjie Resort in Johannesburg in January last year.
Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane appointed a law firm Nchupetsang Attorneys to probe circumstances around her death. The law firm recommended in April last year that the principal and educators be charged with misconduct for providing dishonest and falsified information to the department and/or its agent after their testimonies, which contradicted the pupils.
The last update in this case was in July last when Chiloane indicated that the disciplinary hearing is currently unfolding. This is cold comfort for her family, who want closure in this case.
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