The South African Council for Educators (SACE) has finalised its annual report that includes the number of teachers that have been found guilty of committing sexual offences against learners.
Yet to be released, the 2024/25 annual report will only be published after the conclusion of an independent audit.
The widely reported rape case of a 7-year-old learner, known as Cwecwe from Matatiele in the Eastern Cape, cast the spotlight on issues of children’s safety at schools as details of her sexual assault that allegedly happened on the school premises of Bergview College emerged.
Cwecwe’s rape happened in October last year, to this day, no one has been arrested as the details around what happened on that day remain a mystery. Her then school principal who is one of the alleged rape suspects faced a backlash for removing her from the school when the rape incident was reported to the school.
Her case is one of several sexual assault cases at schools that dominated news headlines during the first term of the 2025 academic year, with communities taking to the streets in protest and several ministries like the Departments of Basic Education (DBE), Social Development (DSD) and the Police ministry amongst others – forming a task team to tackle the issue.
According to the Risuna Nkuna, the spokesperson from SACE, the council recorded 110 cases of sexual assault in the 2023/24 financial year.
Nkuna said that teachers who were facing sexual assault or rape allegations and were on suspension, were not supposed to be teaching until their cases were finalised.
“The duration of how long it takes to resolve the cases depends on the complexity of the case. Sometimes the case gets postponed for various factors and the availability of all parties involved adds to how long it can take to finalise the cases,” said Nkuna.
On the vetting systems that have been put in place to ensure that registered sexual offenders and predators do not end up working as educators.
Nkuna said, “SACE is working closely with other bodies such as the Department Justice and Constitutional Development (DJCD) to ensure that those who are found guilty of any sexual misconducts, their names are registered against the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO)”.
The NRSO was initially expected to be made public at the end of February this year, but the decision was withdrawn by the DJCD following concerns about the legislative framework in the Sexual Offences Act which protects the privacy of offenders.SACE is yet to confirm the date of the release of its 2024/25 annual report.