Alleged report scam revealed

The Elizabeth Matsemela Secondary School in Block BB, Soshanguve has been rocked by allegations that the school is selling illegal reports. This comes after several people involved in the alleged school reports selling scheme, decided to blow the whistle on the scandal. The victims allege that the school principal, Oupa Mkhabela, has been selling the reports to certain illiterate people who work at the school as volunteers. Several victims have claimed that the principal sold the reports in exchange for sexual favours. The alleged scandal is reported to date back to 2009.

According to several victims, they allegedly bought the school reports – in particular that for grade 11 – to apply for several positions that require the candidate to have passed the grade. It is alleged that Mkhabela often traded the school reports to some of the residents for about R2 000. One of the residents who worked at the school as a cleaner, Johannah Mashaba, told Record that she first heard about the alleged illegal reports when she volunteered at the school as a cleaner. Mashaba branded the principal as an elusive “crook” and said the principal has allegedly been selling the reports to many people in the area.

“I worked at the school and heard from someone that the principal was selling the reports to those who didn’t complete either grade 10 or grade 11. I was told about this when I tried to apply for some position at the municipality and also for a job in Rosslyn. I was advised by the principal to get the school report so that my application could be taken into consideration. I took his advice, but it really destroyed my future. He demanded that I pay money for it,” she said. Mashaba stated that she opted to buy the reports because she had no other way of getting the job. “The problem arose when he demanded more money for the report, which crippled me financially. However, I was scared to lose my job at the school so I had to keep paying him. I ended up paying R3 000 for the report in 2009,” she said.

She revealed to Record that one of her friends who currently works at the Tshwane University of Technology as a security guard was also close to the principal. Record is in possession of an alleged school report that was part of the scandal at the Elizabeth Matsemela School. Another resident, who spoke to Record on condition of anonymity, stated that he also bought a report at the school and said that the sale of such reports from schools around the township was common. “This is common around Soshanguve, but not many people want to talk about it. I can honestly tell you that these are issues that even officials in the education department know about,” he said.

The reports allegedly bore the signature of an educator, although he no longer works at the school. Record contacted the educator in question, Thomas Mahlangu, and he said he did not know how or why his signature had been used on the report in our possession, as he was no longer working at the school when the report was issued in 2009. “This report was signed in 2009 and by that time I was no longer an employee at the school. I don’t know why I was part of the report. I don’t even think the lady in question was part of my class. I am surprised to see my signature used on the school report.” Mahlangu said he resigned from the school during 2008.

Attempts to get comment from the school’s principal proved futile, as all calls went unanswered. The Department of Education also remains tight-lipped and refused to offer a comment at the time of going to print.