Four grade 5 Mpumalanga primary school pupils endured the trauma of seeing their alleged abuser daily as the authorities dragged their feet to bring the alleged sex pest to book.
Despite the principal having alerted the regional education director of the abuse in December last year, the department took its time to take action.
The allegations of sexual abuse date back to the same month, yet no action was taken until Wednesday when the department finally suspended the deputy principal following media enquiries and pressure from the provincial legislature.
Education department spokesperson Gerald Sambo confirmed the suspension and acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations. “The deputy principal remains on precautionary suspension and will not return to the school until the disciplinary process has been finalised.”
“The department will conduct an investigation to determine the reasons and circumstances surrounding the deputy principal’s presence at the school while he is on suspension.”
Sambo insisted that the department had taken action to ensure the safety of pupils. “The department takes the sexual harassment allegations against the deputy principal seriously and suspended him to ensure the safety of the learners”.
DA spokesperson on education, Annerie Weber, said the inaction had endangered the children. “The department’s inaction forced these children to stay in an unsafe environment for months. That is unacceptable,” Weber said.
“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.”
Weber said the department must take proactive steps to protect pupils and enforce the law. She also questioned why the police had not been involved earlier.
“There is a need for punishment for those who do not report such acts. The department cannot investigate itself when children’s rights are at stake.”
Parents have been left frustrated by the delay, saying their children had to suffer in silence while authorities took no action.
One of the affected parents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were warned not to speak out. “We have been told not to talk now that the department has taken action. But the truth is, we spent months begging for help while our children had to see this man every day at school,” the parent said.
The school, located in Ka-Nyamazane, about 27km east of Mbombela, cannot be named to avoid identifying the alleged perpetrator before he has been formally charged and has appeared in court.
The department has not disclosed the nature of the reported abuse. However, the matter is considered serious enough to have led to the suspension.
Weber said: “If it was not for the parents approaching the legislature, the deputy principal would still be at work.”
