JOHANNESBURG (SOUTH AFRICA)
IOL.com (Independent Online)
February 15, 2021
By Chulumanco Mahamba
Accused “sex pest” acting principal of John Martin Catholic School in Kagiso has been placed on precautionary special leave amid the revelation that the educator had a valid teaching certificate when he was appointed.
There was an outcry last week over the appointment of Motsamai Molete, a former educator from Phahama Secondary School in Mohlakeng, who was dismissed by the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) for misconduct, after he had sexually assaulted a learner and for improper and disgraceful conduct of a sexual nature towards learners in 2014.
The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) also upheld his dismissal in 2015. Following a social media post that went viral, the Catholic Institute of Education resolved to put the educator on precautionary special leave while resolving the matter, the GDE confirmed.
“We are monitoring this matter with interest,” GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona told The Star.
The episcopal vicar for schools of the Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg,
Solly Mphela, said on Saturday that the archdiocese emphasised that the protection of children in church schools was paramount and, through a child safeguarding policy, set standard employment procedures for Catholic schools.
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