The principal of Parktown Boys High has been sacked by the Gauteng education department after he was found guilty of various acts of misconduct which led to the death of Grade 8 pupil Enoch Mpianzi, 13.
Malcolm Williams was issued with a dismissal notice on Monday by the department after being charged with three allegations of misconduct from the 15 January incident where he “unjustifiably prejudiced the administration, discipline or efficiency of the department”, said spokesperson Steve Mabona.
According to Mabona, Williams was found guilty of causing the Grade 8 pupils to go on an excursion to Nyathi Bush and River Break in Brits for their orientation camp without prior approval.
Another guilty charge was that he failed to ensure the correct roll call for all pupils on the excursion was maintained.
The third allegation, which he was acquitted of, was that he endangered the lives of the pupils by disregarding a set of safety rules and regulations by failing to ensure that the pupils who were to participate in the water activities were provided with life jackets which led to the death of Mpianzi, said Mabona.
“The presiding officer has, after careful consideration of mitigating and aggravating circumstance, dismissed him accordingly. Therefore, he has a right to appeal to the MEC for Education against the findings by the presiding officer within five working days of his receiving of the dismissal notice,” said Mabona.
Williams was suspended along with other district officials in January following the death of Mpianzi who was swept away in the Crocodile River during the orientation camp.
The pupil was found two days after his disappearance, after he was last seen when a makeshift bamboo raft which he and other pupils were on capsized in the river.
The boys were apparently left unsupervised during the water activity by the river – where they had to make bamboo rafts which they tied together – as the teachers were allegedly playing games during the time.
According to the resorts, no roll call was conducted before the pupils departed for the trip, which led to confusion as eight boys could not be accounted for during the excursion.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi announced in June that the Mpianzi family was suing the department for R10 million for the death of their son.
-The Citizen
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