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Education authorities this week began to probe the R16 million tender awarded by Coastal TVET College to a bookseller to procure books it had previously bought directly from suppliers.
Administrators at the college’s eight campuses in and around Durban were asked to provide a breakdown of their expenditure on textbooks – and their delivery – since 2013 to its central office for presentation to the college council.
Officials of the Department of Higher Education and Training tasked to investigate other alleged administrative irregularities had also visited the central campus.
According to a source at Coastal TVET College, who is not allowed to talk to the media, officials also began vetting employees in response to allegations by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union that educators who had been fired and blacklisted by the Department of Basic Education for qualifications fraud had been employed at the college.
“There are a lot of questions being asked about qualifications of people who moved in from the provincial education department. There is no proper process for checking qualifications centrally and colleges employ staff directly, unlike in basic education. They are now checking to see if people who were employed here are among those who basic education blacklisted for false qualifications,’’ the source said.
Earlier this week, isiZulu newspaper Bayede reported that several senior staff members at the college had been appointed after being fired by basic education in the province.
At the weekend DHET deputy director general for TVET Firoz Patel confirmed that the department had received allegations of financial and other irregularities at the college and would investigate those that fell under its mandate. Financial issues, he said would be investigated first by the college council.
Last week City Press revealed that some of the college’s campuses were forced to give students photocopied textbooks after Haati Investments CC – trading as Redwood Stationers and Booksellers – brought in to buy textbooks for the college, failed to deliver. The company was paid R16 million for the contract, introduced last year.
In a circular to staff this week, college council chairperson Dr Paulus Zulu, said the council had received allegations of misconduct by college management and that they had been discussed at a recent council executive committee meeting.
Exco had “put steps to clarify the validity and accuracy of these allegations,’’ and would take the “appropriate action’’ if necessary.
DHET spokesperson Khaye Nkwanyana confirmed that “interaction’’ had taken place with the college staff and that investigations into alleged qualifications fraud were taking place.
“We have received that information and are investigating,’’ he said. “If there is proof we will act on it.’’
Meanwhile, Nehawu has asked the DHET to appoint an administrator to run the troubled East Cape Midlands TVET College at Uitenhage, where a forensic audit resulted in the removal of principal Jamangile Mbana in 2014.
Mbana was replaced by his deputy, Leon Roux, who took on the role in an acting capacity. The institution has since been repeatedly hit by student unrest over unpaid FSFAS loans and strikes by Nehawu members over working conditions and placements.
The union has also written to the Public Protector asking her office to investigate alleged misuse of NSFAS loans and to force the department to appoint an administrator.
