Africa-Press – South-Africa. A Gauteng teacher was fired after the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) found him guilty of misconduct for sexually harassing a Johannesburg high school pupil.
The teacher is the pupil’s uncle who tutored him in maths.
The council found that the teacher was unsuitable to work with children and said his name should be added to the National Child Protection Register.
During a hearing, it emerged that on 20 July 2022, while he was a teacher at EP Baumann Primary School, the man sexually assaulted a pupil by touching his thighs and penis at his home.
“During the lessons at the victim’s home, [he] would put his hand on the victim’s thighs, moving it slowly to his private part and grabbing his penis hard.
“When the victim’s dad walks into the room, he would immediately stop and continue with the lessons,” commissioner Mmamahlola Gloria Rabyanyana said.
“The victim would push his hand away, until one day he reported the incidents to his brother. The brother informed the father, who reported a criminal case [to the] SA Police Service.”
The pupil was 15 years old at the time.
The man has since apologised to the boy and his parents.
In her analysis, Rabyanyana said the teacher, voluntarily and without duress, pleaded guilty to the charge and that he had a complete understanding of the seriousness of the offence.
“I cautioned him about the seriousness of the offence and its sanction. I satisfied myself that he understood the charge, its seriousness and the sanction it carries.
“I was satisfied that his sexual conduct, which was unlawful, resulted in the victim’s sexual integrity being impaired and that his conduct was intentional. Therefore, I found him guilty as charged,” Rabyanyana said.
Through his representative, the teacher said he was a dedicated teacher for five years and that he had a clean record, which shows that he has a very high regard for authority and the values associated with his profession, he said.
He described himself as a passionate teacher who was “highly” respected by pupils, teachers and the broader school community. He added that he was “very committed” to his pupils, teaching them innovative ways to do mathematics, a subject with which most struggle.
The teacher completed his honours in education and is busy with his master’s studies in education.
He added that he helped his single-parent father financially to support his family. His salary was his only source of income and he depended on it.
He also said he was diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder in 2016, after the death of his mother, and had been receiving treatment since then.
He claimed that he lost “touch with reality” for nine days and spent five months in a facility.
Before the offence, he suffered from major depression and was hospitalised at a psychiatric facility, he said. He is, therefore, dependent on his medical aid to continue with his treatment.
Rabyanyana said the teacher showed great, genuine remorse through his words and actions. He also admitted guilt and did not waste this council’s time by putting the minor child and his parents through more anguish.
She said:
However, Rabyanyana added that the teacher committed the offences while he was of sound mind.
“[He] should have thought about his financial situation before he committed this horrendous action. The damage caused to the victim cannot be weighed against his financial loss.”
Rabyanyana added that schools should be a place of safety for pupils and that consistency must be applied to delinquency of this nature.
“Other educators who committed the same or similar offence were dealt with accordingly and dismissed. He committed the offences against a young adolescent boy. He was looking upon him as an uncle and a tutor,” she said.
Rabyanyana added that the pupil and his parents had trusted him but that the incident destroyed the trust relationship and injured the victim emotionally and psychologically.
“His actions are seriously harmful and destructive. He had ashamedly violated the victim’s constitutional right to dignity and education.
“He exposed the young man in a way that no mitigating factor would stand the test of time. He abused his position and skill as a maths educator to prey on the innocent child.”
“He made it a habit to prey on this young boy to satisfy his lustful needs.”
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