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45% of sex-pest educators still teaching - Minister

BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga has revealed that 45% of teachers found guilty of sexual offences in the last three years are still in the classrooms.

In an oral reply to a parliamentary question posed by DA MP Annette Lovemore, Motshekga said 289 complaints of sexual abuse had been received by the SA Council of Educators (SACE). Of these, 62 teachers who were found guilty were still being allowed to teach.

In the reply, Motshekga said they had been struck off the roll, however "their striking off was suspended for a certain period on condition that they do not make themselves guilty of misconduct during the period of suspension".

She also revealed that of the 289 complaints, 67 teachers had been permanently struck off the roll, and that only 136 cases had been finalised in the three-year period.

Between 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, the number of complaints against teachers had also increased from 78 to 126.

SACE spokesman Themba Ndhlovu said each case of sexual abuse was treated differently depending on the offence and the circumstances around it.

"If the teacher is proposing love to a learner ... it is wrong for that teacher to do that, [but] we can say we are striking you off the roll but because of the merit it is suspended. If they raped or had sex with them [learners] then they are off the roll permanently," he said.

Lovemore said it was "simply unacceptable" that such teachers retained their positions.

"In terms of section 17 of The Employment of Educators Act, a teacher must be dismissed for committing an act of sexual assault on a learner or having a sexual relationship with a learner of the school.

"The Government is clearly not taking the scourge of sexual violence and the welfare of our children seriously," Lovemore said.

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