The growing trend of teachers having sexual relations with pupils is a major concern for the SA Council for Educators (Sace).
In the past three months, at least 30 cases of sexual misconduct/rape were reported to the council. This is compared to 19 reports in the same three-month period – July, August and September – last year.
The council’s spokesman, Themba Ndhlovu, said that of the cases the council’s ethics committee would be adjudicating next month, the most worrying factor was the number of teachers who would lose their jobs because of this offence.
Ndhlovu explained that all teachers in the country, whether in the public or private sector, were registered with the council and bound by its code of conduct.
If they were found to have violated the code, they get deregistered, and it is illegal for any teacher to practise without Sace registration.
Ndhlovu said the cases set to be finalised next month dated back to cases the council had received in the past six months, plus those that had been accumulating.
“I can’t reveal the number of teachers who will be struck off the roll until the council finalises the cases, but I can safely say the most worrying are the cases of teachers having sexual relations with learners,” he said.
“It’s true that the country needs more teachers, but we need teachers of a certain calibre – teaching is a noble profession.”
Last week, The Star reported on Benzi Tenza, principal of the Ezibeleni School for Physically Disabled Children in Katlehong, who was accused of wasting R1.7 million of the school’s funds on a “worthless” school bus and R11 000 on a private overseas trip. The Gauteng Department of Education launched an audit into the school’s finances.
In September, The Star reported on a school in Eldorado Park where sexual harassment allegations, among other complaints, were made against a teacher.
One pupil said she had to quit maths and physical science classes after her maths teacher had been absent for long spells, while another teacher, who teaches a different subject, had sexually harassed her.
Another pupil from the school said she avoided going past the teacher’s class whenever she wore a skirt because he would stand at the bottom of the staircase just outside his door and look up the girls’ skirts.
Ndhlovu said parents, school governing bodies and teacher unions were supportive of the dismissal of teachers found guilty of these violations.
“Even the teacher unions support us because the people who don’t adhere to the code of conduct also bring the unions into disrepute,” he said.
Another concern for the council was the growing number of corporal punishment cases that they continued receiving.
The council had received 45 cases of corporal punishment in the past three months, while 21 cases were reported during the same period last year.
“We understand the frustrations teachers come across in relation to corporal punishment. I don’t think we, as Sace, the department (of basic education) and other stakeholders have done enough in finding alternatives to corporal punishment.
“Teachers tell us that children are unruly and sometimes dangerous… that’s the dilemma we’re in, but that doesn’t mean they have to break the rules,” said Ndhlovu.
A source said very few of the cases were being investigated by the police or had criminal dockets opened, because the pupils involved were reluctant to come forward and make formal complaints. - The Star