Principal, accomplices to be charged
Sex-pest teachers removed from Reiger Park High
The Gauteng department of education wants to change the resignation of the principal of Reiger Park High School into a dismissal.
MEC Panyaza Lesufi made the announcement yesterday following the circulation of videos of the principal and pupils performing sexual acts.
“If the principal is dismissed, he will never be able to work for any government department.
“We have put a legal team to work on that aspect so that if we can, he can be re-instated and be charged with sexual misconduct,” Lesufi said.
The principal, who resigned in October but only left the school last Friday, had been at the school in Boksburg, on the East Rand, for 15 years.
Lesufi said three teachers who were also implicated in incidents of sexual acts captured on videos have been removed from the school with immediate effect.
“The teachers were given relevant documentation and were advised to report at the district office. We have formally requested the police to investigate,” Lesufi said.
“Every learner will be given a piece of paper to anonymously write what they know about the incident. The department will also meet with the families of the victims.”
Angry parents called for the department to disband the school governing body (SGB) but Lesufi said that would not help as they needed to punish only the perpetrators.
The current SGB’s term ends at the end of next month.
Lieutenant-Colonel Heila Niemand, who heads the police’s electronic crime investigation division of the Gauteng family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit, said they were investigating whether there were more victims of the sexual abuse at the school.
“The pictures were taken three years back and we are trying to establish if the victims were below the age of 18 when the incident happened.
“If that’s the case the principal will be charged with numerous counts, including manufacturing child pornography,” Niemand said.
The department has stationed social workers at the school.
Meanwhile, the number of pupils that are yet to be placed in schools in Gauteng has decreased from 28 000 to 3 366.