Minerva Secondary School pupils boycott classes over allegations of teacher misconduct

Pupils at Minerva Secondary School in Alexandra boycotted classes, demonstrating outside the school gates on August 18, demanding that a teacher accused of sending inappropriate messages to a learner be fired.

Congress of South African Students (Cosas), which said it learned of the matter last week, alleged that there are WhatsApp messages in which the teacher is allegedly proposing to pursue an inappropriate relationship with a learner.

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On Tuesday, while pupils gathered outside the gates, numerous stakeholders, including representatives of Cosas, met inside the school to respond to the allegations. Police officers were also at the school.

Following the meeting, Cosas Johannesburg regional co-ordinator Rethabile Mogotsi said stakeholders were told the teacher has been placed on precautionary suspension pending an investigation, with further direction expected on August 24.

“Remember, suspension comes with investigations. So, from right now, investigations are going on until August 24. Then they are going to say what is going to happen to him.”

Mogotsi said the matter initially came to light after a single learner spoke about an alleged incident. Mogotsi said they have evidence, including screenshots of messages.

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Gauteng Department of Education MEC’s spokesperson Onwabile Lubhelwana described the allegations, saying they involved a teacher allegedly making comments such as telling a learner that they could be their wife or their girlfriend.

He said the learner had resisted and rejected the teacher, but noted that the content suggests that the teacher was persistent.

Lubhelwana also raised concerns about how contact between the teacher and the learner is alleged to have taken place, saying numbers had reportedly been obtained through a WhatsApp group intended to support schoolwork.

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“These are teachers who are abusing the trust the public has placed on them, because where do they get the numbers? They get the numbers from a learning platform, a WhatsApp group meant to help them work better,” he told the SABC in an interview.

Alex News has not seen any of the messages referenced by Cosas and the MEC’s spokesperson. It must also be noted that a precautionary suspension does not by itself constitute a finding of guilt.

Alex News reached out to the Gauteng department of education on August 18. An update will be provided once more information becomes available.

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