'Serial-lover' teachers bribing poor parents to keep quiet

Unscrupulous teachers are bribing poor parents of their schoolgirl lovers to remain silent.

With offers of thousands of rands, they persuade the distraught relatives not to talk to education officials or the police about their affairs. Officials said this week that the "serial lovers" lured girls in their classrooms with promises of marriage and money.

If these affairs were reported, they paid off the family to prevent them from testifying.

In one case, a Limpopo mother accepted a R10000 bribe from a teacher who had sex with her underage child.

In another, a teacher offered to help a pupil from a poor family buy her matric-dance dress - and then had a relationship with her.

The cases, along with many others, are now being investigated by the South African Council of Educators (SACE).

The council said that it had adopted a zero-tolerance stance against teachers - mostly married and between the ages of 35 and 50 - who had physical relationships with their pupils.

It had struck 10 teachers off the roll this year, mainly for sexual offences, after probing 85 related complaints.

Tsedi Dipholo, the council's chief operations officer, said parents had to be made aware that any child having a relationship with a teacher, regardless of their status, was a "no-no".

He urged parents to question their daughters if they suddenly appeared with expensive gadgets such as cellphones and tablets.

"We are raising our kids in a society where we treasure material things such as expensive tablets and cellphones."

block_quotes_start At times girls are mischievous and parents can be ignorant. In the small communities, it is an exciting thing that a child is dating a teacher. block_quotes_end

Dipholo confirmed that the council had been forced to withdraw cases against some teachers because parents refused to talk after being paid off by the teachers.

"Our challenge is to get parents to understand the implications of this behaviour when they don't talk."

In the Limpopo bribery case, which took place last year, he said that the council was likely to reopen the investigation after the teacher allegedly failed to honour his promise of payment.

"We learnt that the teacher [had] offered them R10000. To a mother who gets a grant of R1200, it's a huge amount."

However, the teacher failed to pay up.

"Which teacher has R10000 on the spot? That's the highest amount that somebody has offered for a parent's silence," said Dipholo.

The council's concern about teachers preying on vulnerable pupils has prompted it to kick off a national campaign this year, targeting more than 15000 parents and pupils to warn them about the dangers of these illicit relationships.

The council's campaign is in line with Department of Basic Education policies, which forbid relationships between teachers and pupils even if they are of a consensual age.

"We took a stance this year that we will be talking not only to teachers about illicit sexual relations. We will also be talking to parents and learners," said Troy Martens, a spokeswoman for the department.

"What we picked up at times is that girls are mischievous and parents can be ignorant. In the small communities, it is an exciting thing that a child is dating a teacher."

Martens said that sexual relations between teachers and pupils were forbidden and "disciplinary action must be taken if it is found that a teacher is engaging in sexual relations with a learner".

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"The best interest and safety of learners is paramount in our schools, therefore we encourage SACE in their endeavours," she said.

"The majority of teachers are upstanding moral citizens and those few who prey on innocent children must be rooted out of the system."

Teachers who are found to have lured young girls with the promise of marriage and money are banned from entering a classroom and their names are recorded in the national register for sexual offenders.

Some are also facing the prospect of criminal charges.

"Even if the pupil is of consensual age or received a marriage proposal, we are clear on our stance that no teacher will have a relationship with a pupil," said Dipholo.

The council found that it was not only male teachers who were involved with their pupils.

It is dealing with three complaints against female teachers. Two are likely to be banned from teaching for having sex with young boys.

The South African Democratic Teachers Union said that it was obliged to represent its members at disciplinary hearings for whatever charges they might face.

"However, we respect [the council] and adhere to its code of conduct. Teachers found to be guilty must be given the harshest punishment," said union spokeswoman Nomusa Cembi.