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The Mpumalanga education department has begun disciplinary hearings for 61 teachers accused of being involved in last year's matric exam cheating. Investigations revealed that candidates were assisted, possibly by teachers, in one or more subjects. Irregular practices took place at 10 of the province's Mpumalanga's 587 examination centres.

The firing of a teacher who helped expose the cheating in last year's matric exams shows that whistle-blowers' rights are badly protected. This despite the promise from the Education Minister to protect those who exposed the cheating. Seven months after the fraud in the Mpumalanga matric exams, the only person who has been penalised is one of the whistle-blowers.

Twenty-two teachers are involved in a multimillion-rand fraud. Provincial education department officials have taken advantage of an offer of amnesty in return for information on the ringleaders. All the teachers would face criminal charges as the amnesty was only for the departmental disciplinary process.

The National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF), in a bid to combat corruption, has raised the importance of whistle blowing as part of the school curricula to create awareness amongst learners and teachers.

The Basic Education Minister briefed media on the interim report submitted by a ministerial task team set up to probe allegations of selling of teachers’ posts. The Minister said the report confirmed there is corruption and undue influence in the appointment of teachers and school principals, there are weaknesses in the system and that the authority of the state and powers of certain stakeholders in the appointment process would need to be reviewed.

The Basic Education Minister delivered a statement regarding the investigation into allegations of selling of posts for teachers following the release of preliminary report by her Task Team on the work done thus far. According to the minister the report, though not yet complete, has uncovered some very concerning tendencies that are being perpetuated in the appointment of teachers and principals. The full details of the report will be released at a later stage.

The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) was fingered as the main culprit in a damning report into the alleged selling of teachers' posts released on Thursday. According to a report by the Basic Education Minister’s task team, government systems have allowed an exploitation of the system, which compromised proper appointments of critical educator posts.

The North West provincial Government welcomes the release of an interim investigation report conducted on the sale of promotional posts in the various provinces. The Investigation was commissioned by the Minister of Basic Education following an outcry in provinces where this practice was purported to be prevalent.

The SA Democratic Teachers Union came out strongly against the basic education department on Sunday, accusing senior officials of being involved in a jobs-for-cash syndicate and claiming that high ranking officials in the education department had either accepted bribes or used undue influence to appoint teachers and principals. But this allegation was rejected by an education spokesperson.

The EFF calls on the Basic Education minister to take decisive action against members of SADTU and other officials of the department who have been given jobs through illegal means. The Minister has announced that the department welcomed a report by its investigative task team which found that of a "total of 75 cases" it dealt with, 30 provided "grounds for reasonable suspicion or wrongdoing".