‘These teachers must go’: Over 16 000 with criminal records still in classroom

The department of basic education is placing the lives of pupils and teachers in danger by allowing more than 16 000 criminals to continue teaching.

This is according to the National Association of School Governing Bodies (Nasgb) secretary-general Matakanye Matakanye, who said 16 097 teachers with criminal records were still employed, despite the issue being brought up earlier this year.

“We call on the minister of education and the South African Council for Educators (Sace) to immediately act because we cannot allow criminals to teach our children,” said Matakanye.

‘We cannot allow criminals to teach our children’

“It is their responsibility to ensure the teachers conduct themselves professionally.

“The problem was discovered in March, but no action has been taken up to date.”

Last year, about 3.6% of the 447 123 department of education employees had criminal records and some even failed to disclose it, according to the TPN Credit Bureau statistics.

ALSO READ: WATCH: ‘Hello ma’am, what’s my name?’ – SA teacher captures hearts with viral video

The criminal records include rape, murder, assault, theft, robbery, fraud, drug-related crimes, housebreaking and serious road infringements.

Recently, it was found 649 teachers with criminal records are employed by the Free State department of education. The department said the process of screening employees was ongoing in order to address the problem.

Matakanye said after the Free State data came to light, they checked other provinces and found no action was taken against implicated employees. They were still on the department’s payroll.

No action against implicated teachers

He, however, commended the Free State provincial government for stating they were working on getting rid of the teachers.

He has urged other provinces to come forward and say how they were handling the problem.

Education activist Hendrick Makaneta has criticised the government for being slow in addressing the issue.

ALSO READ: Parents close Eldorado Park school in protest over ‘abusive’ teacher

It was not easy to detect teachers with criminal records because the only time teachers are expected to produce a police clearance certificate was when they register with the Sace.

“Other than that, teachers with criminal records are able to get away because no-one knows about their records,” said Makaneta.

“If a teacher is already working and somehow his or her criminal record is found, their employment status could be reviewed.

Teachers with criminal records

Be that as it may, we are concerned about the safety and well-being of pupils across the country.

“While the constitution upholds the right to fair labour practices, it is critical the department of education ensures that individuals entrusted with teaching and shaping young minds meet the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct.”

Makaneta said if the authorities were serious about fighting the problem, they should consider a thorough vetting process, coupled with periodic reviews of educators’ records.

ALSO READ: Concerns about food poisoning incidents disrupting teaching and learning

However, it is equally important to differentiate between minor offenses and serious crimes, particularly those that compromise the safety of children, he added.

In a telephone interview, Sace spokesperson Risuna Nkuna denied it was their job to ensure that teachers’ criminal records database was updated.

“Our job is to check the criminal status of the teachers when we register them.

Checking criminal status during registration

“After that is the department’s job to make sure that the records are updated. You may find that some of the crimes were committed when the teachers were already employed,” said Nkuna.

Basic education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga did not respond to questions sent to him and he also failed to respond to the follow-up e-mail.