School predator vetting failures put government on trial

SECTION27 wants judges to force government departments to properly maintain the National Child Protection Register. A child protection database meant to keep predators away from schools is under fresh legal pressure in Pretoria, where SECTION27 and the Teddy Bear Foundation are asking the Gauteng High Court to force government departments to do their jobs properly. The public interest group says the National Child Protection Register (NCPR) is being badly underused and poorly maintained, leaving children exposed to people who should never be working with them. What the case is about SECTION27, acting for the Teddy Bear Foundation, appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria this week, to ask the court to make sure the NCPR is “implemented and maintained effectively.” The organisation wanted the court to compel the Departments of Social Development, Justice and Constitutional Development, Basic Education, the provincial education departments and the South African Police Service to report predators without delay, place their names on the register and keep them out of child-contact jobs. It is also seeking orders against the South African Council of Educators and the Educators Labour Relations Council, both of which play a role in educator registration and disciplinary processes. Why SECTION27 is in court The group says the law is clear: the Department of Social Development must maintain the register, the Department of Basic Education and provincial departments must vet staff against it, and the Justice Department must ensure court registrars report names of people found unsuitable to work with children. But SECTION27 says those duties are not being carried out properly. “Our application focuses on the failures of government departments to protect children from unsuitable individuals,” the organisation said. “We seek relief to address statutory failures undermining children’s rights to basic education, dignity and safety.” How the problem began The case stems from a North West matter in which a school caretaker raped a learner, yet was not immediately placed on the NCPR even after being found guilty and dismissed. SECTION27 says that failure exposed a bigger problem: weak reporting, poor coordination, sloppy vetting, and no real certainty that names are actually being captured and used when schools hire staff. The organisation says the register is seriously neglected. In March 2025, it found that only 49 000 educators had been vetted against the NCPR. What the register is for The National Child Protection Register is meant to protect children by recording abuse and listing people who are unsuitable to work with them. SECTION27 says the system should be a basic safety net, but after roughly 15 years it is still not working as it should. The only respondents opposing the application are the Department of Social Development, which says it has cleared the backlogs and maintains the register by receiving reports from other departments. The Basic Education Department and provincial education departments have proposed a settlement, which is expected to be finalised at the hearing. The group wants the court to issue a structural order and keep watch over compliance, arguing that without active oversight, the same failures will continue.