‘Maseribane High School faces crisis

‘Maseribane High School in Quthing district is grappling with severe administrative and financial issues that are negatively affecting both students and some non-teaching staff.

The school board has been entangled in a raging conflict with the acting principal, Mokutu Mohale, over several persistent allegations of financial mismanagement, failure to run the school, and declining enrolment.

Sources this week said non-teaching staff have gone for three months without getting their salaries.

This undesirable situation has created a challenging environment that needs urgent attention to ensure the well-being and education of the students are not compromised.

The sources alleged that Mohale has been refusing to withdraw funds from the school’s bank account to cover essential expenses, including student meals, without giving any reasons.

The acting head, who was once kicked out of office by the current board but later reinstated by the Teaching Service Department, has also been accused of failing to arrest the declining education standards and lack of proper accounting procedures.

‘Maseribane High School is situated at Mount Moorosi, 32 kilometres from Quthing town. It was established in 1973 by the Roman Catholic Church and used to score some of the highest mathematics and science grades.

The chairperson of the school board, Motete Mokonyana, this week accused Mohale of handling school funds “carelessly and for personal gain”.

Mokonyana told theReporter in an interview on Wednesday this week that the acting principal was failing to run the school and the board wants him to go.

This publication has it on good authority that the same board tried to kick Mohale out following a damning report by the ministry of education and training central inspectorate. However, this hit a brick wall after he was reinstated by the same ministry.

Mokonyana further indicated that the board’s role is to oversee financial and administrative operations, while Mohale’s mandate is to manage daily operations and ensure teaching quality, but he had failed to do this.

Another member of the school board, Thulo Tlhoriso, revealed that the acting principal’s management style has led to significant problems at the school, including a drastic decline in student enrolment from 1,300 in 2014 to just 416 today.

About 250 learners fell pregnant at the school in 2018, out of a total enrolment of 1000 learners. This means that more than a quarter of the students fell pregnant in that year alone.

Tlhoriso said the board, teachers, and parents were worried that the situation at the school was now dire amidst fears that it might be closed down.

“The school looks abandoned,” he noted, adding that the school feeding scheme has also been halted without any explanation.

“Students who rely on the school-provided lunch as their primary source of food have been hit hard. This might lead to further drop outs,” he pointed out, adding teachers were also no longer provided with meals.

“The situation is terrible. Lessons now end at 1pm. Students face increased risks of poverty and exploitation, including involvement in activities such as prostitution to feed themselves.”

The situation at the school was being exacerbated by the fact its finances are in disarray, with previous board members still signatories to the bank accounts, Tlhoriso claimed.

Efforts to get a comment from Mohale on Tuesday were fruitless as he chose not to give his side of the story.

He said any questions or concerns about the situation at the school should be directed to the department of education.

“I don’t report to the media,” he told theReporter before curtly hanging up. curtly

A Teaching Service Commissioner identified only as Nkoka who allegedly reinstated Mohale, was also not available for comment as he said to be out of office.

For his part, the chief executive officer of secondary education in the ministry of education and training, Jone Andreas Marõle, said they were worried by cases of principals misappropriating school fees.

Marõle last week addressed the board of ‘Maseribane High School, emphasizing that they must adhere to decisions by the TSD and not act against them.

Marõle explained that if the board is not satisfied with the current acting principal, they should file charges against him to have him removed from office if he is found guilty.

“Going against the commission is considered misconduct,” he stated.

He also noted that the principal’s financial powers are regulated by the Education Act of 2010 and overseen by the school board.

“According to the Act, the principal’s use of funds is based on decisions made in at least four board meetings per year, where the board allocates the budget.

“The funds are withdrawn by three signatories: the chairperson, the principal, and a third person designated by the board, in accordance with these quarterly meetings,” Marõle explained.

But he was dodgy when asked what action has been taken since the report was released almost a year ago, quizzing: “Where did you get that report in the first place?”

He said they informed the board of the school.

Following complaints by teachers against Mohale, the education office in Quthing dispatched two inspectors for management and commercial studies from the ministry of education and training in October last year with the purpose of checking the school’s financial books and other vital documents.

According to the school inspection report dated October 28, 2023, serious irregularities in the management of financial accounts were uncovered.

The investigation also revealed that the budget for the year 2023 was not authorised by the board and that the available internal financial statement had a lot of discrepancies.

The report also observed that school funds were not well managed, and that the bulk of money was spent on meals and sports activities, rather than on school development.

“There are many payment vouchers which show that goods and services have been paid, yet no receipt or invoices are attached to prove that the suppliers have delivered the goods and services.

“There is not receipt for Ford Ranger parts to the tune of M15,000 and petrol amounting to M600. M8,255 as spent on different items including Mpesa payment to school secretariat, TV subscription,” the report said. The vehicle belongs to the school.

The report further showed that some attached invoices for attached items bought were not related to school expenses.

It added that there was a loan repayment of M5,750 which was paid by M Mohale (Mokutu) to JP Financial Services from the school’s bank account. It is not clear if the school approved the loan.

The report further stated that the current board was approved on June 27, 2023.

“These transactions are fraudulent because people who are signing for school funds are members of the old school board.

“Bank statements are not collected monthly from the bank. However, they reflect that some fees are deposited in the bank.

“The inventory book is not available. This encourages lack of monitoring of school property which may also lead to misuse of school resources, and this hinders proper budgeting. It also promotes lack of accountability.

“Lack of skills in financial management has created havoc and problems in the school and this has led to mismanagement and embezzlement of the school finances,” the report said.

A grade 9 student this week said the stoppage of school meals was detrimental to their learning as some do not have food at home.

He pointed out that lack of food might force some learners to drop out of school altogether.

“We were promised that things would go back to normal,” he lamented.