The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is maintaining that the educator placed in Arena Park Secondary School was never found guilty of any misconduct or sexual harassment of learners.
This, after parents and learners gathered outside the school on Thursday holding placards and chanting, calling for the removal of the educator alleged to have been previously driven out of Grosvenor Girls’ High School following allegations of sexual harassment. Spokesperson for the Department of Education, Muzi Mahlambi, said: “The educator is not guilty and we cannot accept anarchy in our schools.” Joined in one voice of keeping an alleged sexual predator away from children and demanding that he be removed from the teaching fraternity altogether, members of the Chatsworth CPF, Chatsworth and District Civic Federation, Arena Park School governing body (SGB), non-government organisations, passers-by, members of the community, learners and parents signed a memorandum which was handed over to the acting principal, Mrs L Joshua.
SGB chairperson, Bilal Khan, said he was notified by parents that learners were uncomfortable around the educator. He said numerous failed attempts at liaising with officials from the school and the education sector, to raise the matter, were fruitless which led to the parents taking the necessary action in protesting. “Just the other day, learners in the educator’s class were complaining about his demeanour as he had asked them all to stand up, and told them to start jumping up and down as it is cold and the act would warm them up. They were uncomfortable and said that none of the learners obliged to the educator’s request. Parents and learners have a valid concern and it should be treated with the urgency required,” said Khan.
The memorandum read: “We, the concerned parents/learners of Arena Park Secondary School, demand that this educator in question be removed with immediate effect for the safety of our learners. This is due to past allegations of sexual misconduct. The parents are not willing to take any risk on our children, this especially due to the past media publications of sexual misconduct allegations against the said educator which went viral.” Organiser of the protest, Kevin Reddy, who has two children in the school, said the nonsensical behaviour from the school’s management team summoned for the protest in order for their concerns to be heard. Jennifer Joyce Fisher, director of Women and Men of Valor and coordinator of the Umgeni Community Empowerment Project, was instrumental in assisting the parents with their grievances and said it shouldn’t matter whose child is in the educator’s class as all adults should be responsible for the safety of all children. The school declined to comment, saying that the Department has already spoken.
