Dodgy teachers: Google with catch you

By the end of 2015, people will be able to check online whether a teacher has been blacklisted from the profession.

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Johannesburg - By the end of the year, the public will be able to check online whether a teacher has been blacklisted from the profession.

South African Council for Educators (SACE) chief executive Rej Brijraj said on Monday it had decided to put up on its website the names, identity numbers and the last school where the blacklisted teachers worked.

There would also be information on whether the teacher has been blacklisted for a short time or indefinitely.

The offences will, however, not be made public yet.

“This is because there has been a cry from many quarters that the public needs to know who is struck off the roll for the safety of our learners. By the middle of next year, you will have a full list of all the educators who have been struck off, and indefinitely,” said Brijraj.

Teachers can be blacklisted from working in public and private schools for a few years or be barred from teaching for life.

Brijraj said most of the teachers who were indefinitely blacklisted were found guilty of sexual misconduct or extreme corporal punishment.

He said publishing the names would also ensure that schools were aware of the teacher’s history before employing him or her.

“We hear anecdotal comments that there are teachers who’ve been struck off the roll but are teaching. We are following up and making sure they aren’t serving in any of our schools. But it does happen sometimes that teachers can sneak in through governing body posts although they have been struck off. We want vigilance in respect of that.”

Brijraj said the council would make it difficult for the publicly shamed teachers to re-enter the system. They would have to go through “fit to teach” interviews before being hired by any school.

“The educator, upon re-application, won’t be automatically accepted back into the profession. We have to set up a hearing to judge whether it’s proper to re-enter the profession. Evidence has to be provided to show they are suitable for the job,” he said.

This isn’t the only method of vetting teachers that SACE wants to introduce. It said unions and the department have agreed that new teachers should go through at least a year’s induction after passing university.

“Teachers will serve for a year and periodically aspire to other levels of professionalism and designation. We will also review their registration status periodically.”

Brijraj said agreements on what the teachers were going to be assessed on and how the induction would work was under discussion.

“The demands for teaching will be raised. Many teachers don’t have the right profile to become teachers,” he said.

The Star