Posts

“No-fee” schools turn away children who can’t pay

By Cally Ballack First published on GroundUp.org South African schools are divided into five categories known as quintiles. The quintiles range from the poorest to the least poor, with quintile 1 being the poorest 20% of schools in the country. Quintile 5 covers the least poor public schools and parents of children who go to Read more >

Zim parents must buy fake permits for schoolchildren

South Africa’s home affairs department is not immigrant-friendly. At least, not to immigrants who are ordinary people trying to make a modest living. If you’re wealthy, it may be another story entirely. Our Project Lokisa report, released in November 2016, exposed rampant corruption in Home Affairs’ Marabastad refugee offices, where people were forced to pay Read more >

Innocence Betrayed – a FunDza/CW youth story

Together with the FunDza Literacy Trust, we now publish our fifth youth-targeted story, Innocence Betrayed, a story about abuse of power and how sometimes people in authority are seen to be untouchable. Catch up with our previous youth-focused stories, also produced in partnership with FunDza – Licensed to Lie, The Whistleblowers, Pay-off and Reputation Thieves. Read more >

Money mismanagement means big loss for school

The Gauteng Department of Education is investigating allegations of mismanagement of funds at a Soweto school dating back over several years. A series of eyebrow-raising incidents at Firethorn Primary School in Klipspruit – which include the fraudulent cashing of cheques – prompted a member of the school’s governing body (SGB) to lodge a complaint with Read more >

CW report results in new policy for principals

Corruption Watch’s work is never-ending – every day, it seems, there is something new to be concerned about. But there are also times when we can proudly say that our efforts are making a real impact – such as yesterday, when Gauteng’s education MEC Panyaza Lesufi announced that principals at schools in the province would Read more >

Teachers are the world’s heroes

This week we celebrated the 21st World Teachers Day on 5 October – a day proclaimed by Unesco in 1994. This year’s theme was Empowering teachers, building sustainable societies. Every day at Corruption Watch, we see teachers who go beyond the call of duty and who put their pupils’ needs ahead of their own. We’ve Read more >

DBE on cheaters’ case

Some of the matric candidates implicated in the 2014 National Senior Certificate exams cheating scandal have claimed that teachers helped them to cheat their way to better results. This is according to the national Department of Basic Education, which released a statement on 18 June on the progress of investigations into group cheating in KwaZulu-Natal Read more >

Clergyman accused of corruption walks free

Source: Lead SA The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn a charge of corruption against Reverend Josias Mabaso following a psychiatric report that deemed him “unfit to stand trial”. Mabaso, in his late 70s, appeared in the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court on Monday where he was standing trial for bribery and corruption. Mabaso is also Read more >

Licensed to Lie

Together with the FunDza Literacy Trust, we are publishing a gripping drama in seven episodes, that takes place in the licensing sector. Although it's aimed at our youth, Licensed to Lie will speak to everyone in South Africa who has come into contact with corruption. Follow it chapter by chapter! Licensed To Lie By Vixene Read more >