THE department of education in Limpopo has deployed four teachers to the troubled Mahlontebe Secondary School in Sekhukhune near Groblersdal.

The four will, on a temporary basis, replace teachers employed at the school who were earlier this year chased away.

Departmental spokesman Pat Kgomo said the teachers were brought to the school in a bid to "bring the culture of learning and teaching back to its national agenda".

In January angry parents and pupils drove a number of teachers away from the school following allegations of misconduct and negligence.

"We can now say that learning and teaching is back to normal at the school because of the redeployment.

"The new educators were allocated the work left by those who were evicted earlier this year," said Kgomo yesterday.

The teachers, he said, will teach the subjects of maths, life sciences, history, English, life orientation, natural science and technology from Grade 8 to 12.

He said the "evicted" teachers were currently reporting to the education department's Tsimanyane circuit office.

The department took a decision not to send them back to Mahlontebe because the situation at the troubled school had not normalised and it was not safe for them.

"We need to manage the situation first before we decide on their next move. But our district office is currently working on a plan to place them in other schools in the province," he said.

Kgomo added that there was currently no charges against the teacher accused of sexual harassment, since there was no evidence to prove that he sexually harassed a female pupil.

"The only charge we have is for misconduct against a teacher accused of failing to offer tuition to the pupils.

"He will soon be notified of the charges levelled against him and then a date for his appearance before the disciplinary hearing will be revealed.

"And other teachers were still being investigated," he said.

Kgomo explained that the teachers were chased away from the school together with the principal.

He said the four teachers were accused of failing to resolve learners' problems and challenges (teacher A); having sexual relationships with pupils (teacher B); bunking classes (teacher C); and failing to mark learners' work, and giving free marks to a chosen few pupils and failing to offer tuition to learners (teacher D).

lThe Sowetan originally reported that all four teachers had been accused of sexually harassing the pupils at the school.

The Sowetan has since found out that only one teacher is in fact accused of having sexual relationships with learners.

We regret the error.