Relief, anger and lingering distrust hung in the air at Busisiwe Primary School in Zola, Soweto on Wednesday, after education authorities finally removed a teacher accused of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl.
The Gauteng Department of Education has placed the educator on precautionary suspension while a disciplinary process unfolds and a criminal case is investigated.
Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile was on the ground at the school on Wednesday meeting with the principal, the School Governing Body, SAPS officials and community leaders to get a full briefing on the allegations and what interventions had been put in place.
The department said its psychosocial support unit has been tasked with providing trauma counselling and continued support to the learner and her family.
The move to suspend the teacher came after days of mounting fury from parents who staged pickets outside the school gates, demanding answers over why the educator had remained in the classroom after the complaint was first raised.
A video in which the child is heard describing the alleged ordeal spread rapidly on social media earlier this week, forcing the department to intervene.
Parents said the school had failed to act swiftly on the matter sparking fears that it could happen again.
For many parents gathered outside the school, the suspension was the first sign that their complaints were being taken seriously.
Maile sought to calm tensions, reiterating the province’s hard line on sexual abuse by educators.
He appealed to the community not to take matters into their own hands.
“We understand the concerns and emotions surrounding these disturbing allegations. However, we appeal for calm and urge everyone to allow the necessary processes to unfold. We must ensure that justice is not compromised by interference or speculation,” Maile said.
He emphasised that due process must be followed to protect the integrity of both the criminal and internal investigations.
On the question of why no arrest had yet been made, Maile said law enforcement was finalising key steps.
“The child, with the mother, are currently receiving counselling and the forensics are taking the statements. Immediately, the police will be able to effect an arrest, because the police were waiting for the complainant to effect the arrest and that’s what they are going to do,” he explained.
At Busisiwe Primary, parents said the case had shattered trust.
While the suspension has eased immediate tensions, parents say they will not back down until they see a criminal docket opened and an arrest effected.
The nine-year-old and her mother continue to receive counseling as forensic procedures continue, the department confirmed.
