The DA said that a written parliamentary question to the Basic Education ministry revealed the number of cases increased from 92 in 2019/20 to 191 in the most recent data collection period.
CAPE TOWN – The South African Council for Educators (SACE) said that many cases of sexual misconduct involving teachers went unreported.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has raised concern about the number of sexual misconduct cases reported to the council has dramatically increased in recent years.
The party said that a written parliamentary question to the Basic Education ministry revealed the number of cases increased from 92 in 2019/20 to 169 the following year, to 191 in 2021/22.
The DA said it was worrying that the council only instituted 23 disciplinary proceedings last year.
Of these, 19 teachers were found guilty of sexual misconduct but only four were struck off the roll indefinitely.
SACE legal and ethics manager, George Moroasui: “There is this thing called managing these cases, which means that as soon as such a case comes to the fore, as soon as a child has been abused, some of these teachers, they will rush to these families, offer them bribes, offer them a hand in marriage and these cases, therefore, end up going unreported.”
