It has emerged that the resignation of a Reiger Park principal was hastily processed on Friday as allegations of sexual abuse against him increased.
Though the Gauteng education department says the principal’s termination started in October, The Star has seen documents that indicate the man's resignation was hurriedly processed on Friday and backdated to January 15.
The principal has been accused of sexual abuse after videos and pictures emerged of him allegedly raping and sexually assaulting pupils in his office.
According to a source at the provincial education department offices, the district office processed the principal’s papers on Friday only and falsely informed the department that he resigned last year.
The source said the principal went to the district offices on Monday to inquire how much he would get if he resigned from his position.
In a statement on Friday, the department's spokesperson Steve Mabona said the man had resigned in October and his last day at work was January 15.
Asked about the matter on Sunday, Mabona said the department stands by its original statement that he resigned last year.
He said the department had planned to place him on suspension when the videos emerged but discovered on Friday he was no longer an employee.
He said despite the resignation, the man has been reported to the South African Council of Educators to be struck off the roll and never to be allowed to work with children again.
Mabona said officials will go to the school today for further investigation and also with the intention of opening a criminal case and offering pupils counselling.
The DA education spokesperson, Khume Ramulifho, is not satisfied with how the department is handling cases of abuse in schools.
From last year, Ramulifho said, when more than 80 pupils at AB Xuma school were sexually abused by a patroller, he asked Premier David Makhura and MEC Panyaza Lesufi to institute a commission of inquiry.
Makhura set up a task team. According to Mabona, members of the task team have already met with all school principals and asked them to designate one official at school to whom learners can report abuse.
But Ramulifho says this is not enough.
“The task team is there just to hear what happened. With a commission of inquiry, the department gets to find out the extent of the problem. The department is underestimating the extent of this scourge.”
Ramulifho said currently pupils are scared of reporting cases for fear of being further victimised.
He said: “Sexual abuse in Gauteng schools goes beyond allegations against the patrollers. It also involves principals and educators. The scourge of violence against our learners has infiltrated every level of our education system.
Mabona said: “The department has a zero-tolerance stance on allegations of sexual assault and has never hesitated to act. We strongly condemn any acts of sexual misconduct in schools and encourage pupils never to listen to anybody who tells them not to speak out.”
The principal allegedly raped the learners because, according to the law, minors cannot consent to having sex with adults.