Pretoria - Officials from the Department of Education and community leaders rushed to Valhalla Primary School where a teacher has been suspended on suspicion of sexual impropriety towards pupils.
Some of the concerned parents gathered at the school's hall to engage community leaders and officials from the Department of Education about the matter.
The parents said they were worried by this news and feared for their children, and could not understand why the matter was not communicated to them by the school.
Spokesperson for the Department of Education Steve Mabona said the teacher was asked not to report for duty on Wednesday morning due to the seriousness of the issue.
Most parents said they only found out about the "disturbing allegations" on social media and that concerned them greatly.
Mabona said rumours that the youngest girl touched inappropriately by the 55-year-old educator was just 6 years old were not true.
Numerous concerned parents gather at the school to ask question and ask for assurances about their children's safety. Picture: James Mahlokwane
He said the educator was now being removed from the school to report to the district officer.
He said the decision to move him elsewhere was to avoid instances where the department finds itself paying a salary to a suspended teacher staying at home.
Mabona said the pupils who reported the teacher are in grades 5, 6 and 7.
They reported the educator after the metro police came to the school to teach them to spot someone who was sexually assaulting them.