Grahamstown District Education head, Amos Fetsha, has spoken out amid allegations of poor leadership, a breakdown of trust between him and his staff, the accusation that he is responsible for the drop in the district’s matric pass rate and allegations that he sold a post at a school for R90 000.
Grahamstown District Education head, Amos Fetsha, has spoken out amid allegations of poor leadership, a breakdown of trust between him and his staff, the accusation that he is responsible for the drop in the district’s matric pass rate and allegations that he sold a post at a school for R90 000.
Staff picketed outside the district offices in St Aidan’s Avenue this week demanding that Fetsha step down. This followed a letter, sent at the end of November, in which they expressed a vote of no confidence in him.
Speaking on behalf of picketers on Tuesday, Mbuyiseli Sandi said their main concern was what they considered to be poor leadership by Fetsha.
Sandi said the matter began on 3 November 2015, when employees in the Department of Education were expecting to get performance bonuses.
Labour unions in the Department formed a joint committee comprising two representatives each from Nehawu, Sassawu, PSA, Naptosa and Sadtu, said Sandi.
They invited Fetsha on 19 November to address their joint grievances.
Dissatisfied with his response at that meeting, they resolved to declare a vote of no confidence. Sandi said they wrote a letter to Fetsha explaining that, in various meetings with him, it had become clear there was a serious breakdown of trust with staff in the District Office.
“We have tried to cultivate open and constructive relationships with you but to no avail,” the letter read. “… without trust, there is no relationship and where there is no relationship there is no leadership. We express a vote of no confidence in you…”
Fetsha was given five working days from 26 November to respond.
To add to their unhappiness, Sandi said, Fetsha failed to call the usual end-of-year meeting before the Christmas break, or a welcoming meeting earlier this month.
Sandi said Chief Director of Vocational Education Services from the head office in Bhisho, Khayalethu Ngaso, intervened on 30 November, telling staff he would seek an amicable solution.
Ngaso promised to return the following week.
“He eventually arrived on Monday 25 January and we met with him,” Sandi said.
He added that the meeting deadlocked and now staff were seeking Fetsha’s urgent removal.
“His presence here at the Department is causing instability and services are at a standstill,” Sandi said.
On Wednesday 27 January, Eastern Cape Education Department spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani confirmed there were problems at the Grahamstown District Office.
He said that, this week, the Department had despatched four senior managers from Human Resource, District Oversight Chief Directors and Community Liaison.
“They then promised to come back after a week, after a full consultation with the executive management of the Department. In the meantime officials were instructed to resume their duties and cease their illegal unprotected industrial action,” said Pulumani.
Yesterday Fetsha denied the allegations against him, saying those participating in the action had an agenda against him.
“There is no meeting that the staff called and I refused to attend,” Fetsha said.
“Yes, I didn't call end- and start-of-the-year meetings and they are right on that. The reason was that things were already not normal at that time.
“How could I call a meeting with people who have already said they don’t want me? I [would have gone]to the meeting [only to be]the subject of humiliation.
“I am not defending my good or bad leadership. In the issue of performance bonuses, they know the procedure. It’s their supervisors who score them according to an individual performance.
Fetsha said he had never removed or changed an employee’s score.
“Bonuses depend on the performance of the person,”Fetsha said. “There is also a grievance procedure. When a person is not happy, they take that route,” he added.
Fetsha said he was not to blame for the 11% drop (to 60.6%) in the matric pass rate in 2015.
He said many factors had contributed the lower pass rate, including the progressed learner policy.
“I have task managers. Results can’t only be attributed to me,” said Fetsha.
He said staff had also alleged that he had “sold” the post of principal at DD Siwisa Primary School for R90 000.
“I ordered an official here, a circuit manager, to manage that from the start, when the post was advertised. The task was to take responsibility for that school, train the school governing body and also be responsible for the recruitment process.
“He didn’t do the process correctly at all and the person that was employed was not right for that position. Teacher unions intervened and the process was started again.
“The person who was [wrongly]employed was paid the money that they are talking about as compensation,” Fetsha said. “That is labour law. If a person is employed, right or wrong, and you remove them, then you have pay compensation,” said Fetsha.
Fetsha said he was very surprised by the actions of staff at the District Office and believed the allegations were secondary to another agenda.
However, he declined to say what this agenda was.
