Standerton - Six Mpumalanga primary school teachers accused of stealing food meant to feed poor children will appear in the Standerton Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
The teachers, of Gugulabasha Primary School in Sakhile near Standerton, were arrested at the school on Wednesday.
The arrests followed a tip-off about the theft of groceries used in the school nutrition programme, a Sapa correspondent reported.
“Structures were put in place to observe and verify the allegations which were found to be true. The police applied for a search warrant from the local magistrate's court and went to the school to do a search,” said Colonel Leonard Hlathi.
“During the search, police found groceries from six vehicles belonging to the suspects, and they were arrested and warned to appear before the Standerton Magistrate's Court on Tuesday on charges of theft.”
Hlathi said the charges against the teachers, aged between 40
and 45, were disturbing.
“These schools were even declared non-fee schools because most parents of pupils are not working and poor. For a teacher to be accused of stealing such food is a disgrace to the society,” Hlathi said.
Sapa