Teacher-student romance annoys TSM director

 

His department fired an offending agriculture teacher at the Masunga Senior Secondary School early this year following a flood of complaints about teacher-student romances in the regional schools last year.

A Physical Education teacher at the same school and his colleague in the art department were lucky to escape with warning letters after they were also investigated for sexual relationships with female students.

Two more science teachers are anxiously awaiting their fate as disciplinary letters continue to trickle in at the school. There is a sixth teacher who awaits his fate.

The reported cases of sexual exploitation of students by teachers appears to have eaten up the moral fabric in the schools contributing to heightened tension between teachers and parents.

As if this list was not enough, a senior Setswana teacher was recently suspended following media reports that he was investigated by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) for obtaining a fake driver's licence.

Action has been taken based on evidence led before a disciplinary board, Makhandela said yesterday. He emphasised that cases of teacher-student relationships were prevalent, although he could not reveal supporting statistics.

Makhandlela said every now and then his office receives cases of this nature. 'Maybe no proper action was taken previously. But remember, we have declared zero tolerance on these relationships, to the extent that those caught on the wrong side of the law will have to face the full wrath of the law,' said Makhandlela.

He was, however, worried that there were teachers who still had the comfort of falling in love with students. The TSM boss said the improved level of education has driven some young teachers to regard students as their age mates.

He was particularly worried by the use of alcoholic beverages which some of the teachers abused with some of their student friends.

Makhandlela said investigations have since revealed that the meetings between teachers and students start from the bars and other drinking holes where they embark on all night binges.

He emphasised: 'It s the expectations of this very profession that the teachers have chosen not to fall in love with students. We, therefore, find ourselves in this situation of having to remind the teachers about something that they already know.' He called for the teachers to go back to basics and do what is right.

He reminded some of the teachers engaged in the student-teacher relationships to get their act together before they face the music. He said it was embarrassing to hear a teacher in his defence claiming that he fell in love with a student because he was not aware of her status or simply that both parties were drunk.

In one incident, a student arrived late for examinations after 'a little rest because' she had been on a drinking spree and sexual escapade with a teacher.  It was this case that helped in unearthing the decay in the system.

Masunga Senior Secondary School used to have a bad disciplinary record with male students previously accused of burning the hostels many times. This had a negative bearing on the academic performance of the school. Just when the school was on the path of recovery after scooping position seven in the last Cambridge results, it is now gripped by indiscipline, apparently perpetrated by the teachers.