Six of the 17 educators struck off the national teaching register in the first half of the 2025/26 financial year worked at Western Cape schools. Five of the six cases involve sexual misconduct against learners.
Also see: ‘Threatened learner with a knife’: Free State teacher faces rape allegations
The details are in the South African Council for Educators’ (SACE) 2025/26 annual report, released in October. SACE regulates the profession and keeps the register of practising teachers. Being struck off means an educator may no longer teach.
The report names the schools but not the educators, and it does not say when the offences took place. In the Western Cape, it lists the sexual grooming of a learner at Wesfleur Primary School and the sexual assault of a learner at Vusisizwe Secondary School. A teacher at Hector Peterson Secondary School was struck off for a sexual relationship with, and sexual assault of, a learner.
At Jupiter Street Primary School in Ocean View, the offence is listed as indecent assault of learners. At De Villiers Primary School, it is a sexual relationship and communication with a learner. The sixth case involves assault and verbal abuse of learners at St Paul’s Primary School in Bo-Kaap.
Nationally, the 17 cases span seven provinces and include examination fraud, according to TimesLIVE. The Western Cape has the largest share.
Sanctions reached employers months later
The report shows that only one of the 17 sanctions reached an employer within the financial year in which it was finalised. The other 16 were sent in May 2026. SACE blames ‘the external appeal process, which has been significantly delayed’.
MPs raised the gap during a parliamentary briefing on the report. According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, they asked why the cases took about eight months to finalise. They also asked whether any of the educators kept teaching or earning a salary in the meantime. One MP warned that employers could keep a struck-off teacher on the payroll without knowing.
The report states that all 11 relevant sanctions were submitted to the Department of Social Development for the National Child Protection Register.
Also see: Bafana Mahungela found guilty of killing pregnant teacher Kirsten Kluyts
Record complaints, stretched capacity
SACE received 831 complaints in the year, the highest number in its history. It processed 556 misconduct cases and is handling 238 disciplinary hearings. The council says about 30 posts, including management positions, have been vacant for two to three years.
The Western Cape has featured heavily before. In the previous reporting year, the province recorded the most complaints (211) of any province, and its education department submitted the most employer-reported cases (174), according to Inside Education.
The ANC has accused the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) of management and governance failures in response to the findings. It says it will push for a detailed report on misconduct cases and learner protection.
What parents can do
Complaints about educator misconduct can be lodged with SACE on 012 663 9517 or at info@sace.org.za. The council also explains the process on its complaints page.
Featured image: iStock/wilpunt
Originally published by Cape{town}etc.
Also see: South African schools struggle with maths, science teachers shortage
Be the first to know – Join our WhatsApp channel for content worth tapping into. Click here to join!
