Education Department investigates teacher misconduct allegations

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has launched an investigation into allegations that two male educators at Thubalethu Secondary School in the Pinetown District molested female learners.

- SIPHESIHLE BUTHELEZI

The allegations were raised with the School Governing Body by a community member, but no action has yet been taken at the school.

MEC for Education Sipho Hlomuka expressed outrage at the reports and ordered immediate intervention. “As the Department, we will not sit idle while the integrity of our schools is compromised and the safety of our learners is threatened,’ Hlomuka said.

“Any educator who abuses their position of trust must know that we will act decisively to remove them from the system and ensure they are held criminally accountable”

The department said investigators have been deployed to establish the facts and that disciplinary and criminal processes will follow if the allegations are substantiated.

This incident comes as KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of teacher sexual misconduct cases in the country, according to the Education Labour Relations Council’s (ELRC) 2024-2025 report. The province referred 25 cases during the financial year, ahead of the Eastern Cape, which had 20, and Gauteng, which had 18.

Limpopo reported the fewest, with three cases, while the Northern Cape recorded five.