Six educators removed from register
Six Western Cape teachers have been removed from the South African Council for Educators’ (SACE) professional register following findings of serious misconduct, including five cases involving sexual misconduct against learners.
The cases are recorded in SACE’s 2025/26 annual report, which lists 17 educators nationally who were struck off the register. The Western Cape therefore accounted for six of those 17 cases, the largest provincial figure identified in the available report details.
The findings place renewed focus on the protection of learners, the handling of complaints against educators and the time taken to complete disciplinary processes. The report does not identify the teachers by name or state when the offences took place, but it links the cases to schools in Atlantis, Worcester, Kraaifontein, Ocean View, Cape Town and an unspecified locality.
Cases across schools and communities
At Wesfleur Primary School in Avondale, Atlantis, a teacher was removed from the register after a finding of sexual grooming involving a learner. The report records a case at Vusisizwe Secondary School in Zweletemba, Worcester, involving the sexual assault of a learner.
A further case linked to Hector Peterson Secondary School in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein, involved a sexual relationship with a learner as well as sexual assault. At Jupiter Street Primary School in Ocean View, the misconduct finding concerned indecent assault involving learners.
The report also records a case at De Villiers Primary School involving a sexual relationship and communication with a learner. The location of that school is not specified in the report details. At St Paul’s Primary School in the Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, a teacher was removed over the assault and verbal abuse of learners.
| Measure | Number |
|---|---|
| Educators removed nationally | 17 |
| Western Cape educators removed | 6 |
| Western Cape cases involving sexual misconduct | 5 |
Questions over provincial oversight
The report has prompted criticism from the ANC in the Western Cape, which has questioned the Western Cape Education Department’s handling of educator misconduct. ANC Western Cape provincial legislature opposition leader Khalid Sayed said the findings supported concerns that the department had not done enough to identify, investigate and prevent sexual misconduct.
“We are extremely concerned. We have been raising this concern consistently. It paints a worrying picture of the WCED's inability to identify, investigate and prevent sexual misconduct. This is another example of systematic management and governance failures by the WCED leadership.”
The political criticism is directed at the department’s systems and oversight rather than at the individual findings themselves. SACE’s action concerns educators whose conduct was assessed through the council’s professional disciplinary process. The available information does not set out the evidence in each case, the dates of the proceedings or whether criminal charges were laid.
That distinction matters in a system where professional discipline and criminal justice are separate processes. Being removed from the SACE register means an educator can no longer remain registered with the professional council, but the report details provided do not indicate the outcome of any possible criminal investigations or court proceedings.
Information available to parents
Parents and school communities are not given the names of the educators in the annual-report details. The schools are identified, however, allowing the cases to be understood in their local context without drawing conclusions about current staff, school leadership or learners beyond what the report records.
The cases also span primary and secondary schools and several parts of the province. That spread does not, on its own, establish a single pattern or explain why the Western Cape accounted for six national removals. It does underline the importance of clear reporting channels, prompt investigations and safeguards that prevent an educator facing serious allegations from posing a continuing risk to learners.
For schools, the central issue is whether allegations are dealt with quickly and appropriately while the rights of all parties are respected. For families, the findings reinforce the need for concerns about sexual misconduct, assault or abuse to be reported through the relevant school and departmental processes, and to the police where a possible crime is involved.
Accountability remains under scrutiny
The SACE figures provide a formal record of professional sanctions, but they do not by themselves offer a complete account of how each matter was first reported, how long the disciplinary process took or what preventative measures were adopted afterwards. Those unanswered questions are likely to remain central to the debate over the Western Cape Education Department’s oversight of educator conduct.
With six Western Cape educators among the 17 removed nationally, the issue is not confined to individual misconduct. It also raises questions about institutional vigilance, communication with parents and learners, and whether warning signs are identified before harm occurs. Any assessment of the provincial response will need to distinguish between the department’s responsibilities, SACE’s professional role and the functions of law-enforcement agencies and the courts.
