A Gauteng forensic investigation report revealed that a former teacher at Laudium Secondary School in Pretoria went on paid maternity leave after lying about being pregnant.
The report is one of several released earlier this month by premier Panyaza Lesufi’s office after being withheld by various departments for years.
According to the report, Helena Jooste applied for maternity leave in June 2016, went on leave in August, and returned to work in December the same year.
However, the doctor who allegedly signed the medical certificate was contacted and confirmed that the document was not authentic.
— Report
However, a whistle-blower alleged that Jooste was never pregnant.
Despite the matter being reported to the principal at the time, she continued receiving her monthly salary.
It was further alleged that Jooste submitted fraudulent qualifications when she was appointed as a teacher. “We obtained the maternity leave application form of Jooste, dated June 28 2016 from the school to determine whether Ms Jooste indeed went on maternity leave in August 2016,” the report states.
The maternity leave had an attached medical certificate dated June 22 2016, allegedly signed by a doctor at the Netcare Pretoria East Hospital. The medical certificate stated that Jooste was examined and would be on maternity leave from August 2016 to December 9 2016.
“We have noted with concern that normally doctors have a standard format of their medical certificate, which they fill in handwriting after they have examined a patient,” read the report. However, the doctor who allegedly signed the medical certificate was contacted and confirmed that the document was not authentic.
Investigators also obtained a statement from the principal in 2018 who said he had recommended Jooste's maternity leave.
However, after suspecting that the signature on the medical certificate provided was not original, he had contacted the medical practitioner, who in turn said Jooste had last consulted their practice in 2008.
Investigators concluded that the certificate was fraudulent.
On the qualifications issue, the report found that Jooste had matriculated at Sutherland High School in 2008 and obtained a B Ed in further education and training from the University of Pretoria in April 2013.
Before her appointment at Laudium, Jooste had worked as a teacher at Andre Anthony Primary School from January 2013 until June the same year.
Verification conducted through the South African Qualifications Authority confirmed that both her senior certificate and degree were authentic.
Jooste resigned from the school a month after she returned from her “maternity leave”.
“In the resignation letter dated January 2017 obtained from the school, Ms Jooste showed signs of feeling guilty for what she did when she said: 'I cannot return knowing the harm I've caused emotionally to myself and others'. Ms Jooste further asked for forgiveness and that she needed a fresh start,” said the report.
The report recommended that the Gauteng department of education should recover the R71,170.97 Jooste earned during her four months of fraudulent maternity leave.
“We establish that Ms Jooste has not claimed her pension fund money and therefore we recommend that the department should consider recovering the money from her pension fund.
“We recommend that the head of the department open a criminal case against Jooste for the fraudulent maternity leave and the salary that accrued to her as a result. We further recommend that Ms Jooste should be blacklisted from the Persal system,” the report states.
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