5 days ago
Suspended Girls High principal may appeal ruling
Phillippa Erasmus, principal of Pretoria High School for Girls, has been suspended from her position for three months without pay.
This comes after her husband, on a volunteer basis without being paid, had helped maintain the school garden and managed the garden workers, as well as another charge relating to the appointment of the school's financial manager.
The South African Teachers' Union and Erasmus are currently reviewing all available information and will decide whether to appeal the ruling.
The union says that Erasmus has the right to appeal and, if unsatisfied, the matter can be referred back to the Education Labour Relations Council to challenge both the outcome and the sanction.
Even though numerous allegations of racism were made at Pretoria High School for Girls, Erasmus has never been charged with those allegations.
She was, however, charged with failing to implement the school's code of conduct. The union represented Erasmus at the trial, and she was found not guilty of the charge.
In July 2024, Erasmus was suspended for the first time amid an alleged racism scandal, which came after 12 pupils were suspended for remarks in a WhatsApp group.
On 31 July 2024, Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane announced a formal investigation into Erasmus, alleging that she had known about the group since 2023 and had not acted.
This probe began after the 12 pupils were suspended on July 24, 2024, but they were subsequently cleared of charges in early August of that year.
The investigation, conducted by Mdladlamba Attorneys, spanned about three months and culminated in an official report and misconduct charges against Erasmus in November 2024.
'Following consideration of mitigating and aggravating circumstances, a sanction of three months' suspension without pay was imposed a year later.
'The presiding officer chose not to apply other possible sanctions such as counselling, warnings, fines, or demotion,' said Dems Nel, head of the South African Teachers' Union's department of legal services.
He has spoken out strongly against the treatment of Erasmus, stating that she was 'unjustly labelled a racist without cause'.
'The Department of Education appointed a law firm to conduct an investigation focused on whether racism was present at the school.
'To date, the report's findings have not been made public, and those charged based on its outcome, including Erasmus, have not even had the opportunity to review the report or defend themselves.
'This is extremely unfair,' Nel said.
Nel further condemned the department's handling of members during the investigation.
'Last year, the union filed a grievance over how our members were treated before and during the probe.
'The department failed to address this grievance, forcing the union to apply to the court for an urgent interdict to compel the department to deal with it.
'We await the case placement and will take further steps if the grievance is not properly resolved. No member should ever face such gross unfairness from an employer.'
Meanwhile, Sergio Isa Dos Santos, a DA MPL for Gauteng, sharply criticised the Department of Education's ongoing actions.
'The Gauteng Department of Education's continued persecution of Pretoria High School for Girls principal, Philippa Erasmus, who has now been found guilty on a frivolous charge because her husband assisted with landscaping at the school as a voluntary act, is unacceptable and delays progressive learning and teaching at this school,' Dos Santos said.
He urged the MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, to 'reverse this decision and end the ongoing harassment and humiliation of this dedicated principal who is unjustly denied the opportunity to teach and guide learners at Pretoria High School for Girls'.
'This disgraceful outcome reinforces our consistent assertion: under MEC Matome, the department will go to great lengths to justify its political vendetta against Erasmus,' Dos Santos added.
He highlighted that the original investigation focused on racism allegations, of which Erasmus was cleared.
'Instead of accepting this outcome, the department, through its attorneys, deviated from the initial terms of reference in a desperate attempt to find evidence to punish the principal.'
Calling the guilty verdict 'absurd,' Dos Santos said it exposed a department more concerned with saving face than achieving justice or educational improvement.
'The department's handling of disciplinary issues has become erratic and inconsistent, often influenced by political agendas.
'It is perplexing why the department has been slow to act in many serious cases, especially those threatening learner safety, yet has moved with unusual speed and vengeance in this instance.'
Both Erasmus and the school's governing body have referred questions to the South African Teachers' Union.
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