Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has said the South African Council of Educators (Sace) is complying with new regulations requiring teachers to submit criminal records upon their registration this year.
Motshekga revealed this in a written response to a parliamentary question from DA MP Sonja Boshoff.
The department has been under pressure to ensure that the Sace registration process incorporates clearance certificates from the South African Police Service (SAPS), National Child Protection Register and National Register for Sex Offenders.
Boshoff wanted to know the number of newly-qualified teachers who applied for Sace registration and produced an SAPS-issued clearance certificate.
She also wanted to know the number of newly-appointed teachers in each province for the 2019 academic year who were employed without the clearance certificate.
Boshoff also enquired whether teachers would be required to update their clearance certificates on a regular basis, or if the certificate was only required at the registration.