Parents at Durban school threaten to protest over teacher allegedly embroiled in sexual harassment case

Concerned parents are threatening protest action at Arena Park secondary school in Chatsworth south of Durban over the appointment of an educator, who was allegedly embroiled in a sexual harassment case at a former school.

It is believed that the educator was accused of sexually harassing students at Grosvenor Girls High School at Bluff in 2019.

He was subsequently suspended, pending an internal investigation.

Beverly Reddy’s daughter is a learner at Arena Park secondary school.

“The fact remains, there must have been fire for us to put it out. So now it’s a smoking gun. You can’t take a person like that and put him in [another school] if you haven’t fully investigated the situation or the person hasn’t gone for counselling,” adds Reddy.

But provincial education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi says the educator was cleared of misconduct after a thorough internal process.

“The allegations were investigated and he was cleared of all allegations. There is no case against him by the department. Even the people who had made allegations are no longer pursuing the matter,” says Mahlambi.

Meanwhile, in 2020, a Durban teacher was accused by his female students of sexual misconduct.

The learners claim the teacher was making sexual comments on their bodies and inviting them to his office at odd times.

They said they reported the matter to the school principal but no action has been taken.

Students accuse a Durban teacher of sexual misconduct: