Schools fall short in screening teachers

Consulting sex offences register being overlooked

IN light of a recent incident in Grahamstown where a teacher is being investigated for boasting on social media about having sexual relations with pupils, Talk of the Town contacted schools in Ndlambe to find out if they screened teachers before employing them in accordance with the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO).

The general consensus in Ndlambe is that of contacting the references in the curriculum vitae of candidates applying for teaching positions.

“We do screen teachers by looking at their CVs,” Kenton Primary School headmistress Marianne Wessels said. “We only really have female teachers and we know them all personally as we have a small staff.”

A similar approach to Wessels is used at Ikamva Lesizwe Combined School in Ekuphumleni.

Principal Gilbert Gqamane said: “We do have a sort of screening by way of checking up with previous employers and making background inquiries. We also interview teachers before we employ them.

“We do not check with the NRSO as when we take teachers we’re under pressure,” said Gqamane.

At Velile High School in Bathurst, principal Wanda Mpandisa does screening once suspicion is raised on an educator’s conduct.

“We look for CV qualifications and the degree,” Mpandisa said. “We do not screen them unless they have done something wrong; then the SA education department will send investigators. If they have qualifications then they do not need to be screened.”

Shaw Park Primary school has not had to employ any new staff lately, principal Liezel Willows said.

“No, we don’t check with the NSRO,” Willows said. “It’s not something that’s come up, or been a cause for concern at our school.”

Willows further said she would be proposing the NSRO as a suggestion at a future school governing body meeting.

Headmaster of Port Alfred Primêre Skool Tommy Scott feels the recent incident in Grahamstown was an “eye-opener about appointing teachers”.

“We do not consult with the NSRO at the moment, but we will in the future,” Scott said.

Port Alfred High School headmaster Clive Pearson relies on the South African Council for Educators (SACE) to vet candidates on behalf of the school. “I don’t directly screen,” he said. “I expect them to be registered with SACE, and to produce evidence that they are SACE members.

“We expect teachers to have a SACE certificate,” Pearson said, explaining that anyone convicted or charged with sexual misconduct was removed from SACE.

Similarly, Dambuza Primary School principal Melvyne Fillis relies on external screening processes to take place.

“We check qualifications to see if they are qualified to be employed as educators,” Fillis said. “We apply at district office, and they do the screening.”

Even though there have been no reported cases of sexual misconduct in the Ndlambe schools contacted, there is a high rate of sexual crimes against children nationally.

Advocate for women and children’s rights and director of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town, Professor Shanaaz Mathews, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, has found that: “Child sexual abuse has a profound impact on the physical and mental health of its victims, with both immediate, as well as longer-term consequences and is of major concern,” and that “in the Eastern Cape, 39.1% of women and 16.7% of men report experiencing sexual abuse before the age of 18.

“In South Africa, one in six of all reported chronic sexual abuse cases is a girl under the age of 12 years,” Mathews’ report states. “The social context of child sexual abuse in South Africa hinges on inequality and patriarchal constructions of masculinities which reinforces male dominance over women and girls, thereby increasing their vulnerability.

“The consequences of sexual abuse of boys and girls can be severe, and may include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, suicidal notions and attempts and inappropriate sexualised behaviour.”

Ascertaining the true extent of child sexual assault in South Africa is difficult, “because police statistics is our main source of data; however, the under-reporting of rape suggests that prevalence estimates are grossly underestimated,” Mathews writes.

The NRSO, established by an Act of Parliament in 2007, is a record of names of people who have been found guilty of sexual offences against children and mentally disabled persons.

This national register allows employers of those working with children to vet and profile people, establishing whether or not they are safe to have around children.