Three Eastern Cape teachers are still teaching children at schools in the province despite their names appearing on the National Register of Sexual Offenders.
Their cases involve three charges of rape and one of assault. An individual is listed on the register only once convicted and sentenced by a court.
It was not clear, by the time of publication, when the teachers were convicted.
The Eastern Cape education department confirmed on Tuesday that the three teachers, one from Joe Gqabi district and two from Amathole East, were still in their jobs.
In a response to questions in the legislature by the DA’s Horatio Hendricks in August, MEC Fundile Gade said the teacher from Joe Gqabi was listed on the register — which is yet to be made public — over a case of assault and rape.
The two teachers from Amathole East were listed for rape.
Gade said none of the teachers had been suspended.
In July, when asked by Hendricks whether any staff employed at state schools in the province had been hired, despite prior convictions or disciplinary records, from other provinces or government departments in the past five years, Gade said the department did not employ officials who had previously been dismissed in other provinces.
In his August response, the MEC said: “Three educators’ information was found on the sex offenders’ register. The justice department recommended the register’s form 10 be completed by the educators.
“Security management informed labour relations to oversee the process of completion and submission of the required documents to security management.”
This had not happened.
Form 10 is an application to have one’s particulars removed from the register.
Gade was asked what oversight mechanisms the department had put in place towards tracking and enforcing the SA Council for Educators’ 2019 directive for police clearance certificates to be issued before new teaching appointments were made.
He said the department was working with the council to enable officials to have access to its portal to check the status on the sexual offences register of all educators before they were employed.
On Tuesday, education spokesperson Mali Mtima said: “We are finalising the labour relations process relating to the issue of the three educators. We can only comment once all the labour relations processes have been finalised.”
He said officials expected the process to be finalised this week “since it’s very urgent”.
“Commenting now would compromise the case since the process is not finalised yet.”
Gender-based violence and children’s rights activists lambasted the continued employment of the teachers.
Head of advocacy at Women and Men Against Child Abuse, Luke Lamprecht, said it was “appalling” that the teachers were still working.
“The aim of the ... register was to register people who ... are not suitable to work with children, irrespective of labour proceedings.
“It doesn’t appear that the registers are working in the desired way as the labour process seems to be taking precedence over the protection of children.
“Protecting perpetrators’ jobs is more important than children’s wellbeing in schools within our education department.”
Masimanyane Women’s Rights International founder Dr Lesley Ann Foster said this was “a blatant case of impunity”.
The register was not monitored, and that created a “rampage of abuse against young children”.
“We all have a responsibility to protect the children in our communities and schools, and yet we are not doing it.
“The perpetrators of this violence get away with it. They don’t care if their names are on that register.
“The register is ineffective until people know how to use it, and there has been no educational campaign to teach people about the register.
“There needs to be a way in which we can expedite the checking of people who are employed in schools to see if they are on the register.”
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola called for the teachers to be fired.
“These people were convicted. We are asking the department to act quickly get rid of them.
“They are a high risk to society, and are entrusted with children, acting as parents. They must just leave the system.”
Equal Education Law Centre researcher Daniel Peter Al-Naddaf said there were “widespread failures to safeguard children from sexual offenders in SA schools”.
“Compliance failures, like failing to vet educators against the National Register of Sex Offenders and the National Child Protection Register, are frequent and unacceptable.
“However, the registers themselves do not capture the complexity or extent of this crisis, which is far more prevalent than the registers indicate.
“The risks of retaliation, stigma and secondary victimisation mean most survivors do not report their abuse, and corruption and institutional failures prevent many reported cases from reaching the registers.
“The unfortunate reality is that many perpetrators will never be listed in a register, and their absence does not mean their classroom is a safe space.
“It is too late to act only once reports of abuse surface. Prevention requires a whole-school approach that targets underlying drivers of vulnerability such as child poverty, shaming of abuse survivors, poor monitoring of educator misconduct, and institutional spaces which are inaccessible and intimidating for children.”
The department’s inaction and lack of transparency suggest more than departmental failure and lethargy, but deliberate complicity
The DA’s Hendricks said the department was mandated by Section 110 of the Children’s Act (38 of 2005) to report suspected incidences of child abuse and/or neglect.
“Educators have a duty to report suspected cases of physical injury, sexual abuse, or deliberate neglect.
“Yet, by the department’s own admission, as of June 30 2025, there are three educators currently on the National Sexual Offences Register, while less than 10% of currently employed staff have submitted their applications for National Sexual Offences Registry clearance certificates.
“The department further brazenly admitted that all three educators are still under the employment of the department and have faced no disciplinary action ...This is unconscionable.
“The department’s inaction and lack of transparency suggest more than departmental failure and lethargy, but deliberate complicity.”
Naptosa chief executive Loyiso Mbinda said the teachers’ union was “deeply concerned about the safety and wellbeing of learners in Eastern Cape schools, particularly with cases of sexual misconduct involving teachers”.
Naptosa would stress the importance to the department of the need to swiftly finalise labour relations processes “to ensure that learners are protected from potential harm”.
Daily Dispatch
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