A new policy introduced in 2019 required that all new teachers registering with the South African Council of Educators (SACE) must obtain and submit police clearance certificates when they register with the professional council for educators. Schools are also legally required to conduct background checks both on prospective educators as well as any other prospective employees including sports coaches, administrators and even grounds staff, to ensure that they are not on the registers of the National Register of Sexual Offenders and the National Child Protection Register. As a result of these requirements the number of educators undergoing criminal checks has grown by 254% since 2019.
However, despite these checks being in place, TPN Credit Bureau data reveals that an alarming 3.6% of teachers have a criminal record and more than two-thirds don’t declare that they have had a previous conviction. It is a point of concern that around 26% of those with a conviction have more than one conviction. More than 40% of those who were found guilty were between the ages of 18 and 25, while 38% were between the ages of 26 and 40. The top five criminal conviction types are theft (26.3%), traffic offenses (20.29%), assault (15.13%), fraud (4.61%) and drug trafficking (3.95%). Shockingly, convictions related to abuse and crimes of a sexual nature make up 2.63% of total convictions in our schools.
Part of the reason why educators with criminal records are slipping through the cracks is that educators employed prior to the new policy being introduced in 2019 were not required to submit police clearance certificates. This means that schools, crèches, aftercare facilities and institutions caring for mentally vulnerable individuals need to conduct regular criminal checks, even on longstanding employees, to ensure that none of their staff have a criminal record, or are on the registers of the National Register of Sexual Offenders (NRSO) and the National Child Protection Register.
The NRSO, established by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act in 2007 and administered by the Department of Justice, is a record of the names of individuals found guilty of sexual offences against children and other vulnerable groups. The Act provides employers in the public or private sectors, including schools, crèches and hospitals, the right to check that the individual being employed is fit to work with children and vulnerable people. Anybody with their name included on the Registers is precluded from being employed as an educator or in any capacity where they may have access to children or other vulnerable persons.
The National Child Protection Register, on the other hand, is administered by the Department of Social Development with the aim of verifying the suitability of individuals to work with children in order to protect them from abuse, neglect or exploitation. Similar to the National Register of Sexual Offenders, any individual listed on the National Child Protection Register may not be employed by a school.
The onus is on Provincial Departments of Education in the case of government schools, school Principals and the Owners of any facilities which care for children or mentally vulnerable people, to ensure that each staff member is checked and vetted to verify that they don’t have a criminal record or have not been convicted of a sexual offense. School principals who don’t conduct these checks and employ staff with a criminal record can themselves be held criminally and civilly liable for failing in their duty of care to children or vulnerable people.
Schools should ideally be conducting biometric checks every alternate year on each staff member. Fee paying schools need to factor the costs of these checks into their annual budgets but the government assumes the cost of conducting the checks at schools which are not fee paying.
So, what happens if a staff criminal check uncovers a conviction? Staff members found with a conviction of a sexual nature against a minor or a vulnerable individual will need to be dismissed with immediate effect. Should an educator be convicted of another crime, this may be in contradiction to SACE’s list of convictions which would prevent an educator registering with SACE. Further, disciplinary action may follow – depending on the nature of the conviction, on a school’s policies and the employee agreement signed by the staff member in question.
Amendments to regulations make it compulsory for anybody with a reasonable suspicion that an employee of a school (or crèche or other child carer) has committed a wrongdoing to report their suspicions. A failure to report a reasonable suspicion can result in a criminal charge. It is important to note that all whistle-blowers are protected, even if their suspicions are not ultimately found to be valid, given that they have acted in the best interests of children. For further information, please visit: https://www.tpn.co.za/schools
About TPN Credit Bureau
Established in 2000, TPN Credit Bureau is a registered credit bureau. Founded to specialise in the property market, the company has since expanded its offering to the education sector with tailored products designed specifically for the private and public school markets to ensure compliance, reduce risk and improve school fee collections. By changing the payment behaviour of parents and guardians, TPN Credit Bureau helps schools collect fees faster and smarter, minimise bad debt and improve their cash flow. TPN’s credit checks also provides schools with affordability scorecards, exemptions assessments and feeder zone validation.
Section 41 of the Sexual Offenses Act requires all school employees to be checked against the Sexual Offenses Register. Section 126 of the Children’s Act requires all school employees to be checked against the National Child Protection Register. TPN offers schools biometric criminal checks, qualification checks and verified employment checks. Its biometric criminal check provides details on all convictions and cases awaiting trial. For the convenience of schools, on premise biometric capturing can be arranged.
