Basic Education Department working on new policy to deal with sex-pest teachers

Two teachers who allegedly raped 11-year-pupils and a principal who sent lewd SMSes to a pupil he had an affair with are among 10 educators whose misconduct cases were upheld in arbitration rulings this year.

Among the cellphone messages that N C Ntombela, the principal of a high school in KwaZulu-Natal, is said to have sent to a pupil were “if you want me to f**k you my love, go to Mr Dlamini’s class” and “I really wanted to f**k you, the problem was I couldn’t”.

In another case, a KwaZulu-Natal high school teacher, N Jali, was found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a pupil. According to transcripts from his hearing, he gave her an abortion pill and, when this failed, paid her family R11,500 in compensation.

The Department of Basic Education is drawing up a new policy on how to deal with sex-pest teachers amid concerns that some schools don’t report sexual misconduct because it puts the school in a bad light.

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