The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) has ordered the Eastern Cape education department to strip a high school teacher of her promotion and instead appoint the candidate originally ranked first by the interview panel.
ELRC commissioner Mxolisi Alex Nozigqwaba made this award on Tuesday after John Kennedy Mkonzi Miya referred an unfair labour dispute to the ELRC.
Nozigqwaba was called on to determine whether an unfair labour practice relating to promotion was committed when the department overturned the interviewing panel’s recommendation that Miya be promoted and appointed to the departmental head post at Ebenezer Majombozi High School, and instead appointed Yonela Lubelo.
The relief sought by Miya was to be appointed to the departmental head position as recommended by the interview panel, with effect from October 2024.
The post requirements for the departmental head position, as reflected in the advert, were tourism and life orientation learning areas for grades 8 to 12.
At the time of applying for the position in March 2024, Miya was a post level 1 educator at the school and had 29 years’ experience. He held a Bachelor of Pedagogies (Afrikaans and Psychology), and, among others, certificates in tourism and hospitality (short course from IQ Academy, obtained in 2021) and Guidance for Learners (Life Orientation, issued by Ikamva Lethu, obtained in 2021).
When she applied for the same post, Lubelo had five years’ experience and her post-matric qualification was a Bachelor of Education in Tourism and Consumer Studies.
In his testimony before the ELRC, Miya referred to the August 14, 2024 interview minutes, where he was noted to have rendered a good performance review and displayed knowledge of the subject.
He was scored as the top-performing candidate, with a total score of 70, while Lubelo scored 63.
Miya’s issue was that there was no explanation provided to him as to why he was not promoted as the top-performing candidate.
However, the district director — exercising powers delegated by the head of the department — overturned the recommendation and appointed Lubelo.
The department argued that while Miya had decades of experience and internal training, he did not possess the required formal qualification in tourism, which Lubelo had, but only informal certificates from short programmes.
However, Nozigqwaba said nothing was mentioned in terms of qualification in the advert for the post.
“What is mentioned are learning areas, which are tourism and life orientation for grades 8 to 12.”
Nozigqwaba also found that the department failed to provide a reasonable justification for deviating from the school governing body’s recommendation.
He said the notion that Miya did not qualify for promotion was not supported by any factual finding.
He also said that the district director’s reasons for concluding that Miya did not meet the post requirements could not be adequately interrogated, as there were no written reasons provided, and the director did not testify in the proceedings to place his reasoning on record.
“A fair and equitable relief for (Miya), who would have been promoted had it not been for the unfair and unreasonable decision of the district director, is that of promoting him retrospectively with effect from 18 October 2024,” Nozigqwaba said.
He also ordered the department to reverse the promotion of Lubelo as departmental head by not later than May 20.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.