A teacher from Limpopo was fired after allegations of misconduct, including threatening pupils and misusing stationery.
Credits: TeachHUB
By Duncan Mnisi
Limpopo – A teacher from Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, Fulufhelo Sikhwihilu had been dismissed from his position at Marhorhwana-Malali Secondary School.
The dismissal follows serious allegations against him, including misconduct and disrespectful behavior towards students and staff.
These included reporting duty while his girlfriend was in the school, dressing unprofessionally by putting trousers under his buttocks, and displaying abusive behavior towards the school’s management team.
Furthermore, the school reported that Sikhwihilu had been accused of assaulting two pupils, threatening the school principal, Nkanyane Mathebula, and refusing to give students’ scripts and marksheets for exams.
The disciplinary hearing was triggered after the teacher refused to attend a hearing in April, claiming he was sick and visiting a doctor.
However, the school’s investigations showed inconsistencies in his claims. Witnesses reported that the teacher was seen leaving the school in a blue VW Polo without engaging with the disciplinary process.
Sikhwihilu’s attempt to have his dismissal overturned through the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) was unsuccessful. The arbitrator, Thomas Mahasha, ruled that the dismissal was fair because Sikhwihilu did not attend the disciplinary hearing and failed to provide credible proof for his claims.
“As an educator, he is expected to lead an exemplary life,” said Mahasha. “Pasting pictures of girls in the classroom goes against the values we teach”, he explained.
Elias Shivambu, who was appointed to preside over the disciplinary hearing, attended the session but discovered that the teacher was not in attendance. Shivambu contacted the principal, who confirmed that the teacher was at work.
Shivambu tried to speak to the teacher, but he refused to answer his phone and declined to attend the hearing.
The school’s evidence included a notice of disciplinary hearing served to the teacher, and testimony from an assistant director at the education department, Phethani Patrick Netshiomvhani.
Netshiomvhani explained that he served notice of the hearing on March 26, but the teacher did not acknowledge it. The teacher later claimed he was seeing a doctor on that day.
The school also found that the teacher did not provide credible evidence to support his claims. The medical certificates he submitted were deemed unacceptable, and there was no proof he was ill.
The school argued that the teacher’s excuses were false, and his actions were unprofessional.
The department of education has also dismissed the teacher from his position at Marhorhwana-Malali Secondary School. The department accused him of assaulting pupils, threatening the principal, refusing to submit learner’s scripts, and misusing stationery by printing inappropriate pictures.
The department confirmed that the teacher’s misconduct led to his dismissal, and he was charged with multiple offences during a disciplinary hearing held in his absence.
