- SACE must report within six months on educator vetting against the National Child Protection Register.
- The council must also disclose how many sexual violence cases are still unresolved.
- The reporting obligation will continue annually under a court-supervised order.
The High Court in Pretoria has ordered the South African Council for Educators (SACE) to disclose how many educators on its register have been checked against the National Child Protection Register and how many sexual violence cases involving educators remain unresolved.
The Teddy Bear Foundation brought the application against several state institutions, including the Minister of Social Development, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, and SACE. The case concerned the operation of Part B of the National Child Protection Register, which records people found unsuitable to work with children.
SACE must reveal the scale of educator vetting
In the ruling, Judge JS Nyathi ordered SACE to return to court within six months with figures that will show how extensively educators have been screened against the National Child Protection Register.
The council must disclose the total number of educators on its register, how many have been checked against the child protection register, and how many sexual violence matters are still unresolved. The court also required SACE to provide details of the unresolved cases, including when each matter was received and its current status.
Annual reporting ordered
Judge Nyathi did not stop at a once-off report. He ordered SACE to file another report within 12 months and to continue reporting to the court every year thereafter.
Those future reports must show how many new educators were added to the register, whether they were vetted against the National Child Protection Register, how many sexual violence cases were received during the reporting period, how many perpetrators were found guilty and declared unsuitable to work with children, and whether their names were sent to the Department of Social Development for inclusion on the register.
Court finds SACE failed to vet and report educators
The reporting order follows a declaration by the court that SACE failed to properly vet and report educators listed on its Educators Register against the National Child Protection Register. Judge Nyathi held that the failure was unlawful and inconsistent with the Constitution.
The court found that the failure violated provisions of the Children’s Act and constitutional rights relating to dignity, equality, freedom and security of the person, and the protection of children.
Seven-day deadline for reporting unsuitable educators
The judgment also imposed a strict reporting deadline. SACE must report the names and details of educators and other persons found unsuitable to work with children to the Department of Social Development within seven days of such a finding.
The same seven-day period applies when an educator is found guilty in disciplinary proceedings of conduct that renders that person unsuitable to work with children.
Wider findings against state institutions
Judge Nyathi also granted relief against the Department of Social Development, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and the National Commissioner of SAPS.
The court found that failures in the maintenance of the National Child Protection Register and in the reporting of qualifying offenders were unlawful and inconsistent with the Constitution. The court ordered ongoing compliance measures and reporting obligations as part of a structural interdict.
Costs order
Because the matter was constitutional and brought in the public interest, Judge Nyathi ordered the Minister of Social Development and the Director General of Social Development to pay the remaining costs of the application jointly and severally.
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