Pupils’ planned trip called off after ... Teacher makes off with money

A TEMPORARY teacher at Gariep High School in Prieska is being investigated for theft under false pretences after she allegedly absconded with money for a planned trip for pupils.

Parents at the school said that they paid thousands of rands after the teacher told them that she wanted to take her Tourism class on a trip to Durban.

“The teacher told the parents that she was taking her Grade 11 class on the trip. She initially told us that we had to pay R5 000 for each child. She later told us that she had found sponsors and that we only had to pay R2 000. We were happy about the reduced cost and paid her the money,” said one of the parents.

Another parent said that she had paid a partial amount of the money.

Arrangement

“I paid R1 500 to the teacher and made an arrangement with her to pay the outstanding R500 after the children returned from the trip as I did not have the full amount. There were parents who paid the full amount. We were all excited about the trip and thought it was a wonderful gesture from the teacher to her pupils,” she said.

The parents said that they had received the disappointing news that the trip was cancelled the day before the children were set to leave.

“The trip was planned for Friday, September 28. The teacher, however, came to see each parent in person on the Thursday evening and informed us that the children would not be going.”

One of the parents said that she was told that the trip had merely been postponed by a few weeks.

“I was told that the pupils would leave on October 18 after I asked for a refund. I was glad that the trip was still on, but later discovered that the other parents knew nothing about the trip being postponed. I was the only one who knew about the ‘postponement’ and it later came out that the teacher had spun parents different versions on why we could not get our money back.”

The parents said that they had unsuccessfully tried to get hold of the teacher, who apparently left town after the school closed for the September holidays.

Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said that the department has frozen the teacher’s salary.

“The Department of Education is investigating a case of fraud and theft at Gariep High School,” Van der Merwe confirmed.

“The school lodged a formal complaint with the department on October 23, alleging that the teacher committed an act of fraud and theft.

“Whilst the investigation is ongoing, we have frozen the salary of the teacher.

“Unfortunately, the delay in finalising the investigation is due to the fact that the teacher is booked off sick until of December 31.”

Police spokesperson, Captain Sergio Kock said that police are also investigating the matter.

“The Prieska Detectives are investigating a case of theft under false pretences. No arrests have been affected at this stage,” said Kock.