Pupils boycott Mowbray school

MANY pupils from Thandokhulu High School in Mowbray stayed away yesterday after a week of protests about the alleged sexual misconduct of a teacher.

Western Cape Education Department spokesman Paddy Attwell said matriculants were writing exams yesterday, while the teacher at the centre of the protests had taken three weeks’ leave.

Earlier this year, the department investigated a report submitted by principal J De Villiers on allegations of sexual misconduct by the teacher but these investigations could not proceed because two pupils at the centre of the allegations against the teacher had declined to testify, said Attwell.

“Meanwhile, the principal is gathering statements from learners to verify the video that surfaced this week allegedly showing a teacher assaulting learners and to identify the teacher concerned.

“The principal will submit his report for further investigation by the department,” said Attwell.

The teacher is due to appear in court on charges of sexual assault on October 4.

The spokesperson for Equal Education, Mila Kakaza, said the pupils were “engaged in a brave struggle to secure a safe and dignified schooling environment for all learners at the school, sparked by numerous reports of sexual assault and corporal punishment by a teacher”.

Kakaza said pupils had indicated that the teacher’s continued presence in the classroom made them feel unsafe at school and hampered their ability to concentrate.

“We urge education MEC Debbie Schäfer to account to learners and explain why the teacher in question was not suspended from teaching while under investigation by the department.

“This failure of basic decency and good sense on the part of the WCED constituted a gross violation of the safety and dignity of the learners who were affected by the conduct of the teacher in question and have remained exposed to this teacher throughout the WCED’s investigation.”

Attwell said department would continue to “engage with all concerned to find a solution”, and that the circuit manager had visited the school this week to discuss the way forward.

Kakaza said last year Equal Education demanded that the provincial police commissioners and the MECs of education, social development and community safety should develop “specialised, safe ways to report rape and sexual assault”.

Pupils who had had such experiences were often unaware of how to report these incidents nor did they know which authority figures to trust. Equal Education also called for support systems for victims.

“Equal Education’s social audit at 244 Western Cape schools proved that sexual assault and corporal punishment remain serious issues in this province.”