The report by Corruption Watch titled “Sound the Alarm” has laid bare the corruption in some of the country’s learning institutions. Image: iStock
A new report has sounded the alarm about widespread and persistent graft and corruption in the education sector, despite the numerous policies and legislation intended to provide unimpeded access to a decent education.
The report by Corruption Watch titled “Sound the Alarm” has laid bare the corruption in some of the country’s learning institutions.
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Complaints from over 3 600 pupils, students, parents and guardians between 2012 and 2021, representing 10% of the total, have been gathered in the report.
According to Corruption Watch, these point to widespread misappropriation of resources acts of bribery, sextortion, abuse of authority, and blatant flouting of employment and procurement processes.
Corruption Watch says for over ten years, and it has received disturbing reports of alleged corruption across basic and higher education institutions throughout the country.
The report looks specifically at how corruption has impacted mainly primary and secondary schools, SETAs and technical, vocational, education and training colleges.
It draws a link between acts of corruption across these institutions, exposing the struggles to secure education from the primary to the tertiary level.
Melusi Ncala, Corruption Watch senior researcher and author of the report, says people have been forthcoming about complaints in the education sector.
“What is particularly striking about these heart-wrenching accounts is the willingness of ordinary people, whether parents, guardians, learners, students, workers, or professionals, to speak up against brazen acts of corruption.”
“Equally conspicuous is the persistent failure of government and law enforcement to act against those educators, principals, administrators, unions, and board members implicated in corrupt activities, usually motivated by personal greed,” he adds.
The report also shows how Gauteng leads the pack in corruption while KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are not far behind.
Corruption Watch says the abuse of power has been reported consistently.
“Alarmingly, incidents of bribery and extortion are also prevalent, including allegations of sextortion, along with employment irregularities.”
“The picture changes slightly in SETAs, as procurement irregularities top the scale, followed by maladministration and misappropriation of resources.
“Once again, it is people in positions of power who are seen to solicit bribes, flout recruitment processes, and disrupt the smooth roll-out of training programmes and leadership,” the report reveals.
Ncala says if education is vocational, it would be reasonable to expect those responsible for managing these institutions to be more mindful of the duty of care.
“The authorities in this sector are simply paying lip service to the issue of graft – and if anything can be gleaned from their rhetoric, it is their apathy and refusal to be accountable.
“Their failure to act decisively necessitates strong and resounding action by us, the people.”
Lack of resources is a frequent excuse for not providing proper education, and yet, he says, “if the limited resources that do exist are being mismanaged to the extent that we see, something has to be done urgently to hold the guilty parties accountable, and to address the challenges preventing people from accessing the education that they deserve.”
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