The Mpumalanga Department of Education has received an order requiring it to appoint a teacher to the department head position. This decision was made following arbitration, which found that the Department unfairly overlooked a candidate despite her being recognized as the best after interviews and recommended by the School Governing Body (SGB).
Kholile Tsobolo applied for this position at Yedwa Primary School, went through the selection and interview process, and was subsequently identified as the top candidate. However, the SGB recommended her for appointment to the Department of Education, but the Department rejected this recommendation and instead extended a preliminary offer to another candidate.
This second candidate ultimately declined the offer, leaving the department head position vacant. The Department failed to provide an explanation for its decision.
Department's inability to explain its decision
In the arbitration ruling issued on September 10, Commissioner of the Labour Relations Council in Education, Nicholas Sono, established that the Department did not provide a reasonable explanation for why Tsobolo was not appointed after the other candidate declined the preliminary offer.
A Department witness, Thandive Chiloane, testified that the position remained unfilled, and Amanda Trevor Mabunda was not hired by the Department nor participated in interviews. She stated that Department documents indicated the position was reserved for the appointment of C.M. Mabunda. Nevertheless, neither Amanda Trevor Mabunda nor C.M. Mabunda accepted the preliminary offer.
Chiloane clarified that a preliminary offer is not a final appointment, and the appointment would only be formalized after the candidate accepted the offer and returned the signed document.
Top candidate met requirements
The arbitration found that Tsobolo met all minimum requirements for the position. During cross-examination, the Department admitted that she was qualified for the role, and it was undisputed that she ranked first in the interviews and was recommended by the SGB.
The SGB recommended Tsobolo partly to improve the school's employment profile, as its senior leadership consisted of three male teachers. The principal of Yedwa Primary School, Lucky Richard Khoza, testified that the SGB asked the Department to justify rejecting their recommendation and requested either the re-posting of the vacancy or the appointment of Tsobolo. According to Khoza, the Department did not respond to the SGB's letter.
He also informed the arbitration that the department head position remained vacant, and the candidate who was offered the job never started working. The arbitration dismissed the Department's argument regarding premature filing of the complaint, as the appointment process had not been completed. Sono ruled that the Department had already engaged in unfair labour practice by overlooking Tsobolo and officially extending a legal offer to another candidate.
Commissioner Sono concluded that Tsobolo proved, with over 50 percent probability, that the Department's decision regarding her non-appointment was substantially unfair. Therefore, the Mpumalanga Department of Education was obliged to appoint Tsobolo as the department head at Yedwa Primary School effective October 1.