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5 MORE TEACHERS IN MHLATANE SEX PROBE

18/03/2019 00:23:00 BY JOSEPH ZULU

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PIGG’S PEAK – It appears the number of teachers engaged in alleged intimate relationships with pupils at Mhlatane High School is far bigger than what was earlier reported.

This publication can now reveal that five more teachers were being investigated for intimate relationships with pupils.
The names of all the teachers, including the subjects they teach, are known to this publication but will not be revealed for now as investigations are still ongoing.
Mhlatane High School has about 1 600 pupils with about 80 teachers.

Being one of the country’s prestigious government schools, Mhlatane has both borders and day scholars.

Relationships

Some of the day scholars also use external facilities from surrounding residences within the Pigg’s Peak Town. Pupil-teacher relationships, though against principles of the teaching profession, are said to be very rife at the school and it is alleged some of the teachers have multiple relationships with pupils.
This is, however, not to suggest that all teachers at Mhlatane High School are engaged in such an act.

The Ministry of Education and Training has a specific team which investigates such cases under the Careers Guidance Department with the Schools Manager’s Department.

When police officers were called to an incident in which a teacher was allegedly found with a female pupil, this sparked anger among some of the parents who wanted the ministry to take action against the said teacher.

The parents also complained that it was not the first time a teacher had been implicated in a relationship with a pupil as another incident involving a different teacher was alleged to have happened in 2018.
It was alleged then that a teacher had gone out with one of the pupils who is said to have been a border at the school and that he allegedly dropped her off late.

Interrogated

However, the girl was later interrogated on the matter but no action was taken against the teacher then, either by the ministry or the police.
This is said to have angered parents, who became more furious after realising that another similar incident had also occurred and that even then, no action was taken.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the parents threatened to forcefully remove the teachers but the ministry eventually asked the teachers to stay away. These were not part of the five who have now been added to the list of the teachers.

On March 12, 2019, this publication reported that three teachers had been advised to stay away from school because they were being investigated for teacher-pupil relationships.

The latest addition brings the total number of teachers being investigated to eight.
The list of the eight teachers also includes two female teachers who were also being investigated for allegedly engaging in relationships with pupils.
Last Friday, Knowledge Ngwenya, who is also a Careers Guidance Officer under the Ministry of Education and Training, visited Mhlatane High School where he is said to have continued with the investigations.
Ngwenya is also said to have collected information from pupils at the school regarding the alleged illicit relationships between pupils and teachers. This publication previously reported about two incidences including one where a pupil was said to have been found at a teacher’s house.
The matter was reported to the police and the said teacher has already appeared at the Pigg’s Peak Magistrate Court where he was granted bail of E4 000.
Arrest
This publication also has information that the Ministry of Education and Training was further informed by the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) regarding the teacher’s arrest as is the norm for civil servants who are alleged to have committed criminal offences.
Macanjana Motsa, the Ministry of Education and Training’s Schools Manager, confirmed that indeed, five more teachers had been added to the list of those who were being investigated.
She said the teachers were first expected to report to the regional educational officer (REO)’s office today for the continuation of the investigations.