By Theodorah waga Mawasha
PETANENGE-Although section 17(1)(b) of the Employment of Educators Act stipulates that sexual assault and having a sexual relationship with a learner from the school where an educator teaches constitutes serious misconduct for which an educator must be dismissed, sexual misconduct has become rife in schools of late, with teachers being the leading perpetrators.
In a recent incident, at Petanenge high school, under Greater Tzaneen, a male administration officer was suspended over alleged sexual misconduct and molestation of male learners at the school.
Tzaneen voice is possession of a video and screen shots alleged to be WhatsApp conversations between the suspect and his victims. In the pictures and video, the suspect can be seen playing with his manhood and persuading his victims to do the same.
Allegedly, the perpetrator was making inappropriate sexual advances to male learners on and off school premises. It is reported that, he targeted male learners who were not performing well academically in exchange for promotion to the next class.
The school principal Gesler Mashele, confirmed the incident and said that the school is looking into offering psychosocial support to affected learners.
“As the school headmaster, I was only informed about the incident by parents of the affected learners. The employee whom I cannot mention was immediately suspended. We will ensure that the employees of the school are properly trained before resuming their duties at the school going forward “, Mashele re-assured.
The Department of Education media liaison officer Tidimalo Chuene released a statement emphasizing that such unfortunate occurrences must be reported to affected schools as soon as they are brought forth.
“Parents/guardians must immediately report such issues to schools to ensure that they are dealt with urgently. In the meantime, I will alert the relevant HR department to investigate and delve deeper into the matter “, Chuene said
