No mercy from education body for school head fired for ‘mismanagement’

Shamin Garib saw an air fryer on special at Makro for R1,999 and, “on the spur of the moment”, decided to buy it for herself with a debit card belonging to the school at which she worked because she did not have her purse.

At the time, August 2017, Garib, who was the principal of Bryneven Primary School in Johannesburg, also bought external hard drives for the school for R9,093 without getting approval from its governing body.

She was dismissed in August 2019 after a disciplinary hearing found her guilty of a raft of charges, including mismanagement of school funds and contravening the Employment of Educators Act.

Seeking “retrospective reinstatement”, Garib approached the Education Labour Relations Council [ELRC], the bargaining council for teachers, but arbitrator Coen Havenga found on May 13 that her dismissal was substantively fair.

Among the charges Garib faced were:

• Failing to alert the Gauteng education department in 2016 and 2017 about the additional remuneration of about R489,942 and R366,173 respectively which was paid to employees, including herself, in contravention of section 38A of the South African Schools Act (Sasa);

• Failing to alert the department around November 2016 about an additional payment of R401,996 that was allocated to staff members, including herself, in the form of performance bonuses; and

• Offering a person who was not an educational psychologist the post of educational counsellor without the approval of the governing body.

Naeem Nakooda, who was the acting principal at the time of Garib’s hearing, testified that the Sasa did not state school funds could be used for personal use, even if paid back later..

Garib testified that the performance bonus was discussed by the governing body and that a form reflected the application for approval and that she accepted the bonus as being legitimate.

Commenting on the performance bonus paid to Garib from the school’s coffers in 2016, he said she was only appointed in October 2016 and was therefore not eligible for a bonus in November that year.

“A performance bonus relates to a person’s achievements for the whole year,” he said, according to a transcript of the proceedings.

He was not able to say why she received a performance bonus, despite her name not being on the list of recipients.

“The principal is the representative of the HOD [head of department for Gauteng Education Department] and she must ensure the school is run in accordance with the Sasa. She must advise the governing body in respect of the department’s policies and Sasa requirements. The applicant [Garib] did not do that.”

He confirmed that she received a warning from the governing body for using school funds to buy the air fryer.

After parents protested at the school in December 2017 demanding her removal, Garib reported to the district office “for her own safety” until October 2018, when she received a notice to attend a disciplinary hearing.

She testified that she was told external hard drives were on sale at Makro and she went with the school’s driver to the store.

According to the transcript, she noticed the air fryer was on special, told the driver she did not have her purse and he suggested she buy it with the school’s debit card.

Under cross-examination, she admitted the Sasa “did not allow for the purchase of the air fryer for her use”.

“She does not agree that she mismanaged school funds.”

Garib testified that the performance bonus was discussed by the governing body and that a form reflected the application for approval, and so she accepted the bonus as being legitimate.

Havenga said the offences Garib was found guilty of “relate to a callous disregard for established best practice policies and procedures”.

“This is unacceptable behaviour by someone in control of a school, and the custodian of public funds of the school, with the responsibility of overseeing proper management.”

Lackson Qoto, from law firm SP Attorneys, which represented Garib, said she was considering taking the matter on review.