DURBAN - POLITICAL parties have called for the harshest possible sentence to be handed down in a case where a teacher has been accused of raping a pupil at a school in northern KwaZulu-Natal last week.
The teacher appeared briefly at the local magistrate’s court yesterday where he was charged with statutory rape and remanded in police custody until next Monday for a bail hearing.
The KZN Education Department expressed shock over the incident which reportedly took place on Friday, while political parties at the KZN Legislature called for harsh action against the teacher.
IFP spokesperson on education Hlengiwe Madlopha-Mthethwa said: “When parents send a child to school, they entrust teachers to look after a child and act as parents. To then find that the child has been molested by a teacher is just heart-breaking, that is why this teacher deserves the harshest possible sentence so that it serves as an example to others.”
The DA reiterated its call for the vetting of educators against the sexual offences register.
“Where incidents are reported, swift action is required and must involve the FCS (Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences) Unit of SAPS, the department of Social Development and the Department of Health. We also believe that the Department of Education must conduct its own investigations, suspensions and must keep the South African Council of Educators informed at all times,” said the DA’s Dr Imran Keeka.
He added that the party expected that all authorities involved would act swiftly to get to the bottom of the allegations and to ensure justice is served.
ANC member of the provincial legislature and chairperson of the Education Portfolio Committee, Sifiso Sonjica, called on the department to conduct its own investigation alongside that of the police.
The department’s Muzi Mahlambi said they were working hard at flushing out such individuals from the education system.
THE MERCURY