A recent report indicated that some teachers working in schools have failed to declare criminal records. Data from TPN Credit Bureau shows that at least 3.6% of teachers have a criminal record while more than two-thirds of those who have criminal records did not declare their previous convictions.
The South African Council for Educators (SACE) regulated the profession in South Africa. A law introduced in 2019 required all teachers registering to join SACE to obtain and submit a police clearance certificate.
Section 126 of the Children's Act, requires all school staff to be checked against the National Child Protection Register while Section 41 of the Sexual Offences Act requires all school staff to be checked against the country’s Sexual Offences Register.
TPN Credit Bureau’s Waldo Marcus says schools are required by law to conduct these checks and if they appear on these registers then it indicates that they were previously convicted of a crime. These checks must be done for all sports coaches, administrative staff and grounds staff.
Marcus warns that school principals who fail to conduct these checks and employ staff with criminal records can be held liable for failing to care for children and vulnerable people.
They added that if teachers were convicted of crimes of a sexual nature against children, they must be dismissed with immediate effect. Other criminal convictions must be referenced against SACE’s guidelines to determine the correct course of action.
Marcus explained, “There are other convictions that are excluded and therefore that should it be disclosed prior to the check taking place the teacher would not necessarily be dismissed and each school will then have certain policies and procedures to deal with those convictions.”
The top five criminal conviction types are theft, traffic offences, assault, fraud and drug trafficking. Convictions related to abuse and sexual assault made up 2.63% of the recorded conviction
