The report into the alleged selling of teaching posts is set to be released before the end of this month, according to the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga.
Motshekga was speaking at the Education Summit at Sibaya Casino on Friday.
KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo were implicated in the report.
Motshekga said the selling of teaching posts was crippling education. “Pupils, mostly from destitute families, are bearing the brunt.
“KZN is cited as the biggest in the selling of posts. You can’t deny it. The report is based on facts. Let us all admit there is a problem and start working (to resolve) it,” she said.
The task team started its work in September after media reports alleged that teacher unions and education officials were involved.
Motshekga conceded that her department was beset by a string of challenges, including a shortage of competent teachers.
The department had previously locked horns with teacher unions after claims surfaced that some were behind the “jobs for cash” scandal. South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) has been named in the scandal.
According to a source in the department, the investigating team was processing the report. All those implicated would be criminally charged, said the official.
Despite tensions between her and teacher unions, Motshekga hailed the Annual National Assessment (ANA) process as a success, saying it had yielded the desired results.
Another worrying factor was people who were overstepping their roles, Motshekga said to applause.
“We cannot all be leaders. We must accept that we are not equal. Let’s go back to basics.”
Motshekga said it was unfair for government schools to be compared with private schools, pointing out that they ran more than 24 000 public schools with more than 12 million pupils.
Premier Senzo Mchunu, who previously served as the MEC for education, said the drop in the matric pass rate in the province stressed him.
The summit was convened after matric results were released.
Umlazi was lauded as the best performing district, while uMzinyathi was named the worst. KZN recorded the highest number of pupils who sat for matric exams last year.
Mchunu said there was no time for finger-pointing. Everyone must play their role in shaping the education system.
Statistician Mthobisi Nkala painted a worrying picture of the education system in the province. Nkala said the high rate of failure resulted in dropouts.
He attributed the fall in the pass rate in KZN to too few books, a lack of facilities and incompetent teachers.
The MEC for Education in KZN, Peggy Nkonyeni, said her department had learned from its mistakes and she was ready for the daunting task that lay ahead.
“This year I promise we will do the best we can to improve the pass rate.”
Sunday Tribune