A teacher at the Roman Catholic-run Empandeni Girls High in
Mangwe District, Matabeleland South has been suspended after he allegedly
sexually abused a Form One pupil, it has been learnt.
Matabeleland South provincial education director Mr Lifias
Masukume said they were handling the matter, where Mr Thandanani Moyo has been
accused of sexual abuse.
“The district offices in Mangwe are carrying out thorough
investigations in order to make sure that a similar case does not happen. What
I can confirm at the moment is that the teacher has been reported missing for
the past days,” he said.
According to parents whose pupils are learning at the
school, the Roman Catholic-run institution called up a meeting with parents on
Friday where the matter was discussed. A parent who attended the meeting said
other parents reported the matter to the police but they were told that only
the parents of the affected pupil could file a complaint. She said parents were
worried about the incident and feared this could be one of many incidents
happening at the institution.
“As parents we are afraid of what might happen next because
we are not satisfied with the judgment that has been given to this teacher. The
school authorities said that he was given a three months suspension and then
transferred to a new school but the question that remains is what if he goes to
that new school and does the same thing,” she said.
She said parents expressed anger over the institution which
has been trying to keep the matter under wraps.
“In such cases the school does not have the right to keep a
secret over such a big issue because it concerns every parent who has a child
at the school. However, the school was supposed to involve parents as soon as
they found out. This shows the extent to which the school is not serious in
handling the matter.”
She said most parents were now concerned about the safety
of their children.
She said as parents they also created a WhatsApp group
where they came up with ways of tackling the problem.
“As parents we have resolved that next week we are going to
the school to talk to children as parents in order to understand what really
happened and if he only abused that student. What hurts the most is that the
child is very young and after all an orphan so there is no one standing up for
her and in such cases the school is expected to do so but they are not taking
their job seriously,” she said.
Contacted for comment, the teacher denied the allegations
of sexually abusing a pupil at the school.
“I am aware that there is a student who filed a complaint
against me at the school and that there is a protest ongoing but I have never
sexually harassed any student at the school. What I can say is there is a hand
of a teacher involved in the issue who is trying to pin me down for something I
haven’t done, even if you call the school they will tell you that there is a
lot of politics within that school that I do not even understand,” said Mr
Moyo. Sunday News
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