Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) recommended that a KwaZulu-Natal high school teacher be dismissed immediately after it concluded that he sexually assaulted a Grade 12 pupil.
The council claimed that the teacher contravened the Employment of Educators Act.
The hearing took place on 13 December 2022 and 29 March 2023.
He was represented by an official from the National Teachers’ Union, while an official represented the provincial education department.
It is alleged that, around February 2022, the teacher sexually assaulted a Grade 12 girl.
The man teaches Physical Science at the same school as the complainant.
“Due to the severe nature of the allegations, he is currently on suspension. The pupil testified that [the teacher] had sexually assaulted her in his car in February 2022. The incident was reported in May 2022. He denied the allegations.
“[O]n occasions, when there were extra classes, he gave pupils, including the complainant a lift home. On the day of the incident, the pupil was travelling in his VW Polo when he stopped and bought fried chips and cool drinks,” said the ELRC’s senior arbitrator, Raj Shanker.
After buying the fried chips and cool drinks, he drove to a park and allegedly sexually assaulted the pupil in his car.
His version is that, after buying the chips and cool drinks, he drove straight to the township and dropped off the complainant; he did not sexually assault her.
Shanker said that, in May 2022, the complainant’s father phoned and requested the teacher to give his daughter a lift as he did not want her to rent at the premises near the school any more.
On another date, the teacher again bought fried chips and cool drinks, gave them to the pupil, and proceeded towards the park.
He allegedly parked his car, and then sexually penetrated her.
The complainant claimed the teacher told her not to tell anyone.
“She only reported the incident in May 2022. She took long to report it because she feared her school results would drop if he was not there. She did not want to be blamed for reporting it and not having a Physical Science teacher.
“She eventually reported the incident to her parents after her father wanted her to travel to school daily with the teacher.
“She became sick and had flashbacks and sleepless nights about travelling with the teacher, so she decided to talk.”
Shanker said the teacher maintained the pupil fabricated her version because she wanted to continue renting a place near their school, and did not want to stay at home.
“She tried to convince her parents that it was not good to travel with him. He also believed that the school principal had something against him, but couldn’t say what,” said Shanker.
The principal testified he recommended that disciplinary action be taken against the teacher and that he be removed from the school.
He denied that he had any personal vendetta against the teacher and denied being paid by the complainant’s father to remove him from the school.
He considered the defendant a good teacher and requested him to join the school in 2016.
Shanker concluded that the teacher sexually assaulted the pupil.
“I, therefore, find that the evidence is sufficient to substantiate the employer’s version that he had sexually assaulted her. A sanction of dismissal is appropriate in the circumstances. Given the egregious nature of the sexual misconduct involving a vulnerable pupil, I find that he should not be permitted to ever work with children again,” said Shanker.
The teacher’s name will be included in the National Child Protection Register as unsuitable to work with children, and to the SA Council for Educators for appropriate action.
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