Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, said she remained committed to the timeframes for the release of a report into a jobs for cash scam.
She said she would be consulting stakeholders beginning with a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on 5 April, Cabinet on 13 April, teacher unions on 14 April and School Governing Bodies the following day on 15 April when the report will also be released on the Department's website.
Motshekga also said she would not engage with stakeholders via the media, after teacher union Sadtu said the report lacked credibility.
The Minister also took aim at the DA, saying the party should not use the investigation to score political points.
Her spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga, said the matter was sensitive and people's lives remain under threat.
"The investigation was set up due to the deaths that had taken place and the allegations that were made against certain people who were implicated in selling of posts for teachers in exchange for cash. And, the Minister wishes to state that the investigation was forensic and that the investigation was involving members of the Department of Justice," he said.
Mhlanga said a prosecutor who attended the last briefing informed the Minister that they are preparing several criminal cases as a result of the investigation.
"There will be cases that will be going to court. Because of that you need to protect witnesses, you need to protect whistle-blowers and we would therefore not be in a position to rush to release the report before such preparations have been made," Mhlanga said.
In a hard-hitting statement on Saturday, teacher union Sadtu whose members are implicated in the report, slammed the Ministerial Task Team report, saying it "falls short of credibility" and was a wild goose chase of "extraordinary proportions."
In a lengthy statement Sadtu said it "has made some observations from the leaked interim report itself and the process leading to its finalisation which has brought us to the conclusion that it lacks credibility and cannot thus be an accurate reflection of the situation on the ground."
"The leaked interim report proves that from the onset, the MTT's aim was to target SADTU and its members in order to cover the weaknesses of the education system. SADTU has always remained committed to the maintenance of cohesion and functionality in the education system and our members have produced quality results with minimal resources at their disposal," Sadtu said.
The union said of the 81 cases investigated by the MTT, "further action was recommended in respect of 7 cases involving SADTU members."
"SADTU and its members have a right to be heard before any conclusions are made and to respond to any allegations against it. We are considering our options with regards to our members who have been falsely accused and whose names have been dragged through the mud as a result of the ineptitude of the MTT and the premature announcements made by the Minister through the leaked interim report succumbing to the pressure by the DA," the union said.
