380 000 Teachers not vetted against Child Protection Register

20 March 2015

In a reply to a DA parliamentary question it was revealed that of the almost 380 000 teachers employed in public schools, none had been vetted against the Child Protection Register.

In next week's Portfolio Committee meeting on Basic Education, where the South African Council for Educators (SACE) will be present, I will press for answers as to why not a single teacher has been vetted against the Child Protection Register. This is of great concern considering that between April 2014 and February 2015, 525 complaints of physical, verbal and sexual abuse by educators have been reported.

If I and my colleagues are not satisfied with SACE's response, I will seek a meeting with the CEO of SACE, Mr Rej Brijraj, to directly engage him on how better to protect our children from adults who are not fit to work with children of school going age.

The reason given for this is that SACE, who is responsible for vetting the teachers against the list, is in the process of compiling the list from the relevant departments.

Part B of the Child Protection Register is a record of persons who are unsuitable to work with children and this information is used to protect children in general against abuse from these persons.

We have no doubt that the majority of our teachers will pass the vetting process but it is an unfortunate reality that, in some cases, those who are entrusted daily with our children are also the very same people who are guilty of abusing them. That is why it is imperative that teachers are checked against the register to ensure that they are suitable to be trusted with our children.

The safety of our children should come first and making sure that teachers are not registered on the Child Protection Register should be a top priority. 

Statement issued by Sonja Boshoff MP, DA Member on Basic Education Portfolio Committee, March 20 2015

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