Eastern Cape teacher escapes dismissal after sexual relationship allegations

The education department sought his dismissal, as well as an order declaring him unfit to work with children. An Eastern Cape teacher who faced the prospect of losing his job over allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a schoolgirl has been cleared of misconduct. This follows a finding that the provincial education department failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its case. The teacher was acquitted of two charges brought against him before the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC). The allegations centred on claims that he had been romantically involved with a 15-year-old pupil. The Eastern Cape Department of Education also accused him of bringing it into disrepute after the allegations attracted attention on social media. It had sought his dismissal, as well as an order declaring him unfit to work with children. Eastern Cape teacher allegedly confessed to sexual relationship The department’s case relied largely on testimony from the school’s principal and the district’s circuit manager. The principal told the arbitration that he first became aware of rumours concerning the teacher and the pupil in 2023. He testified that the pupil’s mother subsequently visited the school to raise the allegations and also reported the matter to the circuit manager. According to the principal, the circuit manager later convened a meeting involving the teacher, the pupil, the mother and her aunt. During this meeting, the teacher allegedly admitted to being involved with the pupil. The principal claimed that the teacher went as far as putting his admission in writing and signing the document. He also addressed allegations that he had spread rumours about the pupil being pregnant, which he denied. The circuit manager similarly testified that the teacher had acknowledged the relationship and apologised to the pupil’s mother and aunt. He revealed that the letter, which had been kept in his office, had subsequently gone missing. Teacher challenges department’s version of events The teacher rejected the allegations and disputed the witnesses’ account of what transpired during the meeting. He maintained that the circuit manager became angry and threatened to involve the police after the teacher indicated that he knew nothing about the accusations. The employee also alleged that the pupil had previously confronted the principal over rumours of her pregnancy and “grabbed” his shirt. He further denied writing a confession admitting to a relationship with the pupil. Missing evidence undermines department’s case In assessing the evidence, ELRC arbitrator Mxolisi Alex Nozigqwaba raised concerns about the case. A significant difficulty was that the pupil never appeared to testify. The arbitrator noted that the student and her mother had allegedly declined to cooperate with the proceedings. The department had also failed to conduct an investigation and submit a report containing a statement from the pupil. This left the ELRC without direct evidence establishing the alleged relationship’s nature, particularly whether it was sexual. “The employee is said to have agreed to having been in a relationship with [the pupil]. “He is said to have penned a statement wherein he agreed to having [a] relationship with the learner [but] the probe [into] the sexual nature of the relationship has not been adequately done,” Nozigqwaba wrote. The arbitrator also found that the department had failed to establish that the teacher was responsible for bringing it into disrepute. “Even if it were to be proven that they were, the allegations would have stood to be unsubstantiated as the employee would not have been proven to have been responsible for the spread of unsubstantiated rumours.” With the department unable to substantiate either charge, Nozigqwaba found the teacher not guilty of both allegations. The ruling effectively spared the teacher dismissal and brought the misconduct case against him to an end.