Stop sex pest teachers

A cautionary course warning against the practice of sexual misconduct between teachers and pupils should be added to the university teaching course curriculum.

This is the suggestion from the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB), in response to the growing number of teachers who are being suspended for this behaviour in schools.

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Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga in March revealed a surge in the number of sexual misconduct cases reported against school teachers, with the number of cases rising sharply from 92 in 2019-20, to 169 in 2020-21, and 191 in 2021-22.

NASGB
NASGB general-secretary Matekanye Matekanye told The Witness that teachers need to be trained at a university level about the dangers of being suspended after engaging in sexual conduct with pupils in schools.

He said the fact that cases of teachers engaging in sexual activities with pupils continues to surge worries them.

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They know very well that it’s against the law, as they play the role of being parents in schools. They need to be educated while still in university about the dangers of being suspended for engaging in sexual intercourse with pupils in schools. This needs to be added as a course in universities. We believe that it will help in terms of decreasing such cases.
He added that they appeal to minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga to engage with Higher Education minister Dr Blade Nzimande about putting courses addressing this issue into their curriculum.

“Our biggest concern is that we will continue to lose more teachers while there’s a shortage. Even if you are the same age as your pupils, as their teacher you are like a parent figure. Principals too, need to host workshops and educate their staff about this issue. Teachers need proper training and also need to be checked if they are fit to work with children.

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“A lot of teachers have even lost their jobs due to this.

“Parents who accept bribes from these teachers need to know that they are not only breaking the law but also destroying their child’s future,” he added.

After being found guilty
Once a teacher has been found guilty, the South African Council for Educators (Sace) takes the teacher’s certificate away and sends it to the Department of Social Development, where it gets flagged in the national register of teachers.

This deems the teacher unfit to work with any child in the country during the period of sentencing.

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi welcomed the notion and said they hope it will help a great deal.