Protecting pupils: new crackdown on sexual predators in schools

THE government has initiated an urgent review of legislation to address sexual misconduct in schools after alarming statistics revealed 469 cases involving teachers over six years.

Education officials are calling for stronger vetting processes and a centralised database to prevent offenders from re-entering the system.

This followed a briefing by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) and the South African Council for Educators (SACE) to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on their roles and functions in addressing sexual misconduct and harassment in schools. 

Committee members called for paedophiles to be “weeded out” of schools.

The committee also wanted the vetting to include all people working in schools, not only teachers.

The briefing included the number of cases handled relating to teacher misconduct, consequence management, programmes for the professional development of teachers and the submission of registers for sexual offenders.

The committee heard that between 2018/19 and 2024/25, the ELRC recorded 469 cases of sexual misconduct involving teachers. 

Of the 211 awards issued between 2021/22 and 2025/26, 176 teachers were found guilty and 35 not guilty. 

The guilty findings were reported to the Department of Social Development and SACE for further processing.

On receiving reports of misconduct and outcomes, SACE determined whether teachers should be struck off the register. 

The council confirmed that before issuing or renewing teaching certificates, it conducted rigorous vetting through criminal records and child protection databases, in partnership with the departments of justice and constitutional development and social development.

SACE said they annually vetted over 50 000 registration applications against the National Register of Sexual Offenders on behalf of teachers with their consent. 

However, due to the department of justice’s manual submission system, internal capacity and delays, SACE often registered applicants without feedback on their clearance certificate, with a signed declaration that they were never convicted of any sexual offences. 

The committee called for a coordinated legislative response across the education and justice systems to protect pupils from sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation. 

Chairperson of the committee, Joy Maimela, said they were particularly concerned about parents who withdrew complaints against teachers and allegations of bribery or intimidation. 

“While members appreciated the fears of secondary trauma to pupil victims, they urged that the State, as the final custodian of children’s welfare, must push through with investigations and prosecutions even without parental consent. 

“Some members also argued that interference with child abuse cases should be criminalised,” she said.

Another concern was that teachers implicated in sexual misconduct often reappear elsewhere in the education system.

The committee echoed strong sentiments that teachers found guilty of sexual misconduct should be permanently barred from teaching. 

Regarding pupil pregnancies in schools, they said that this warrants automatic investigation as it will help identify statutory rape cases. 

“We enquired about case backlogs, reporting inconsistencies and the low number of cases finalised relative to the scale of the problem. We  call for accountability with evidence of arrests, prosecutions and convictions. In this regard, the committee proposes a centralised national database to monitor teacher misconduct, case outcomes and compliance with reporting duties.”

Maimela said that the ultimate measure of success lay in the justice delivered for victims and the prevention of future abuse.

“We must accept that the problem is more complex, and because it involves gender-based violence and sexual misconduct, it affects our children directly. We must do everything in our power to prevent it. And if it does happen, we must ensure that justice is attained.

“We need to look closely at the legislative gaps. With all the laws in place, with all the councils and advocacy, why are we still here? The State is the ultimate custodian of children’s welfare, and their interests must always come first,” she said.

Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, said the department was not proud of the statistics of statutory rape cases in schools and highlighted weaknesses in the system which still allows teachers charged with sexual misconduct to resign and reapply somewhere else. 

“This is a complex issue. One of the biggest challenges in the sector is that we need to make sure the reports lead to convictions; the key to ridding our schools of sexual offenders is having them in jail.

“While we acknowledge gaps in the system, we have taken steps to strengthen reporting, terminate and prevent reemployment of persons found guilty of statutory rape. Our schools must be places of safety and learning, not for abuse and harassment of pupils,” she said.

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