WATCH: Principal of unregistered CBD school behind bars for sexual assault
In the one room there were Grade One to Nine learners and in the other room Grade 10 to 12
About 50 learners are in desperate need of school placement after their unregistered school on Voortrekker Road was shut down and its principal arrested for alleged sexual assault.
The school, run from a one-bedroom flat, was discovered by police and the Department of Education (GDE) on Friday following allegations of sexual assault against the school’s principal.
Capt Jethro Mtshali, spokesperson for Kempton Park SAPS, confirmed the 51-year-old principal was arrested on Friday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl from his school. This comes after a video of the alleged sexual assault went viral on social media.
The suspect appeared in Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday where his bail application was abandoned and the case was postponed to July 3.
When the department attended to the alleged assault case on Friday they discovered the school was run from a flat.
Community members and parents gathered outside the bogus school premises on Friday to show their disgust and disapproval of the alleged acts of the principal. The department investigated the legitimacy of the school and discovered it was started in January 2018 and was not registered.
Learners dressed in their black, white, grey and a touch of gold uniforms arrived at their school on Monday morning, only to be told there would be no classes.
The school catered for learners from Grade One to 12. The flat comprised a lounge area, bedroom, kitchenette and toilet.
According to a learner at the school, learners in different grades were taught together.
“In the one room there were Grade One to Nine learners and in the other room Grade 10 to 12,” said the learner, who wished to remain anonymous.
“We were not a lot in each grade and the teachers put us in rows according to our grades. After attending to one grade they would move on to the next.”
The school is alleged to have five teachers but only two student teachers were present on Monday.
Department representatives sat with some of the parents on Monday to establish a way forward since the school was no longer operational. The parents were informed that the department would try to look for placement for the children in neighbouring schools.
Placement is expected to be after the school holidays while other parents opted to look for alternative schools on their own.
Though arrangements were being made, parents were filled with frustration and disappointment.
