Time to root out abusive teachers

PARLIAMENT wants teachers who are found guilty of raping and sexually abusing learners to be struck off the roll.

The portfolio committee on basic education said yesterday it would meet with the South African Council for Educators (Sace) next week to discuss the latest report on the number of teachers charged for rape and sexual relations with learners.

This was after Sace tabled its annual report in Parliament where it lamented the high number of teachers involved in the sexual abuse of learners.

Chairperson of the portfolio committee, Nomalungelo Gina, said they want teachers found guilty of rape to be fired.

However, she warned there were loopholes in the system, as some teachers manage to evade prosecution as they move from province to province.

Gina said it had always been their stance that teachers who are found guilty must face the axe.

“Taking from other reports, and engagements with Sace, when teachers are found guilty, they must be struck off the roll,” said Gina.

She said they were concerned about teachers who evade the system by moving to another province after being removed from teaching in the original province.

“Once a teacher is found guilty, he must be struck off the roll where he is employed either privately or by the school governing body,” said Gina, adding that they need government systems that would pick up teachers removed from the roll in any part of the country.

She said they would meet with Sace in Parliament next week to discuss the report.

In the annual report tabled in the national legislature, a total of 78 cases of rape and sexual misconduct were investigated against teachers.

Some of the cases relate to sexual relations between learners and teachers.In another twist this week, five teachers were suspended at a school in the Eastern Cape for soliciting sex from learners to give them a pass mark.

The learners complained to the authorities when the teachers put them under pressure in a sex for marks scandal.

In the Sace report, it said five teachers were struck off the roll indefinitely, but it did not state for what offences. But another 18 teachers were struck off the roll, with their striking off suspended for a period of time.

Gina insisted they wanted tough action against teachers who abuse learners.

She said they want the co-operation of parents and learners in order for the council to investigate rape and sexual misconduct cases.

Sace has previously complained in Parliament that in some cases parents withdraw cases against teachers, for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons was that teachers would offer financial support to the victim’s family, especially in poor households.

Gina said she was also concerned about this and they want parents and learners to co-operate with the investigators.

“Once they are reported, let us see Sace taking action. Once teachers are struck off the roll they can’t go through the system,” she said.

Once a teacher is found guilty, he must be struck off the roll where he is employed NOMALUNGELO GINA Basic education portfolio committee chairperson