A 37-year-old Gauteng mathematics teacher has been arrested for allegedly raping a pupil, provincial education MEC Matome Chiloane said.
According to a statement from the department, the Ivory Park Secondary School teacher was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the alleged rape of the girl.
The girl was in Grade 11 at the time of the alleged incident in December.
The pupil’s mother allegedly reported the matter to the school principal on March 2.
“Preliminary information further indicates that the alleged perpetrator had reportedly been offering additional private tutoring services to the learner outside official school hours at his place of residence, where the incident is alleged to have taken place,” the statement said.
“It is alleged that the learner firstly made attempts to report the incident at the school after allegedly experiencing continued inappropriate behaviour from the educator at school.
“The educator was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the alleged rape … It is reported that the arrest followed attempts by the educator to evade authorities, as he had allegedly been absent from school earlier this week.
“The department can confirm that, as of this [Thursday] morning, we have initiated our internal processes to attend to this serious allegation.”
Chiloane said: “As the department, we are deeply disturbed by these allegations against an educator who is entrusted with the care and development of our learners.
“Educators are entrusted with the responsibility of nurturing and guiding our learners and, within the schooling environment, they effectively serve as parents to the children placed under their care.
“They must therefore always contribute towards ensuring the safety, wellbeing and development of our learners at all times.
“While these remain allegations that must be tested through the appropriate legal processes, we take matters of this nature extremely seriously and will ensure that our internal processes are followed accordingly.”
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Brandon Nel
iol.co.za
