The Star reports that a teacher has raked in more than R1-million in salary for doing nothing, following a long-drawn-out fallout with a principal and the school governing body.  

Ndifelani Ligege, 40, of Amsterdam, Mpumalanga, is taking the provincial education department to court over a stand-off that has seen him banned from the classroom, while still receiving his salary, since January 2015.  The Umlambo Combined Secondary School teacher is suing the department for R1.5m for defamation, medical expenses over depression and the “psychological trauma” his family has suffered.  Ligege disposed in court papers that he had been forced to report for duty at the circuit for the past four years.  He stated that the last time he was in the school, the principal, Enock Yende, called him to his office and “insisted that I should go if I didn’t want to get hurt”.  This episode had been preceded by what Ligege described as his “peculiar and unlawful” dismissal from the school.  Accusing him of shoddy work and lack of discipline, the school dismissed Ligege in December 2014.  The department declared his dismissal illegal and instructed the school to allow him back by January 2015.  But once again, threats of violence diverted him to the circuit office.  An Mpumalanga department of education spokesperson would not indicate whether they planned to oppose Ligege’s application.

• Read the full original report by Bongani Nkosi at The Star

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page