The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mpumalanga has written to the Provincial Department of Education to immediately suspend the Deputy Principal of Likhweti Primary school in KaNyamazane township until he is cleared on allegations of sexually harassing four Grade-5 learners.
Concerned community members of KaNyamazane contacted the DA this week about the safety of their children in Likhweti Primary School because the Deputy Principal is still at work even though he is facing investigations on allegations of sexually harassing four Grade-5 learners in December last year. According to the community members, the School Principal wrote a report about the sexual harassment allegations and handed it over to the Ehlanzeni Regional office of the Department of Education for investigation, but the Deputy Principal has not been suspended while the investigation is going on. The community members want the Department to suspend the Deputy Principal until the investigation is completed.
The DA wrote to the Department and MEC Cathy Dlamini about the concerns of the community members. We requested the department to suspend the Deputy Principal and report the matter to the South African Police Service (SAPS). He must be suspended until the outcome of the investigation to avoid interference with victims and witnesses.
The DA also called on the Provincial Department of Education, in consultation with the GBV NGOs and stakeholders, to draft a sexual harassment policy that is appropriate for the school environment. We also want them to table this draft policy in the Portfolio Committee on Education within 30 days.
According to the recent Crime Stats on the period from October to December 2024, at-least five learners were raped in Mpumalanga schools. This is a concerning as five other learners were also reported to have been raped in Mpumalanga schools in the previous quarter of July to September 2024.
Every year we hear about learners who have been sexually harassed or raped, yet the Department has no policy in place to assist these learners. Victims generally fear reprisals, reputational damage, and further abuse if they come forward.
The lack of urgency raises serious questions regarding the department’s commitment to dealing with gender-based violence in schools.
The Provincial Department of Education must prioritise the following areas to put an end to sexual abuse of learners at schools:
- Proper vetting processes must be implemented for all basic education teachers, support staff, and general workers.
- The DBE must encourage schools to report all sexual offences to SAPS. There is a need for punishments for those who do not report such acts.
- Create a policy whereby learners must be escorted by a vetted teacher or vetted teacher assistant to the bathroom.
- In the event that the teacher cannot escort the learner, to consider and implement a buddy system for learners to escort each other to bathrooms to prevent predators from taking advantage of learners when they are alone.