The Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, has today made a plea to law enforcement agencies to up the efforts in hunting for the teacher accused of raping a student at Umqhele Secondary School on Friday, 14 May 2021.
“I call on the police to use all resources at their disposal to hunt the educator who is on the run after allegedly raping a learner,” the MEC said.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) became aware of the alleged rape of a Grade 10 learner by a teacher when the matter was reported to the District last week Friday.
“We have availed our Psycho-Social Unit to provide support to the affected learner and those close to her”, Lesufi said.
A case was opened at the Ivory Park Police Station on Saturday the 15th of May. However, the suspect has not been arrested as yet. He is believed to be on the run as he last reported for duty on the day of the incident.
GDE has also begun disciplinary processes against the alleged perpetrator. The Education MEC said that the educator would be reported to all regulatory bodies and a charge of absconding would be added. As a precaution, the teacher will be reporting to the District Office and not the school until further notice.
“While appreciative of the anger of young people in and around Ivory Park, including the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) about the alleged sexual offence; we call on the learners to put faith in the justice system and desist from further disrupting schooling as the matter is being investigated”, Lesufi added.
