Rivonia principal changes her plea to guilty

RIVONIA Primary School principal Carol Drysdale has pleaded guilty to insubordination for failing to follow a Gauteng Department of Education instruction to enrol a Grade 1 pupil at her school last year.

On the second day of her disciplinary hearing yesterday, Drysdale changed her plea from not guilty to guilty when she admitted she was under the impression that only Education MEC Barbara Creecy, and no other department official, had the authority to instruct her to overturn a decision not to admit the child.

The school had been instructed by the head of department (HoD), Boy Ngobeni, to enrol the pupil after the child’s mother appealed the rejection of the application.

Through her legal representative, Dion Masher, Drysdale told the hearing she had been advised by her union, the National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA, that only the MEC could issue that instruction.

Drysdale said that if she had known then that the HoD also had the authority, she would have followed the instruction.

Following this revelation, the department and Drysdale agreed to settle the matter.

Advocate Mxolisi Zondo, the department’s legal representative, said even though the two parties had agreed to settle because of Drysdale’s admission of guilt, the hearing’s chair, Terry Motau, would have to decide what punitive measures Drysdale would face.

Zondo said the department would argue for a final written warning with an option of a fine.

Masher said they would argue for an ordinary warning.