Probe into Westville teacher accused of grooming pupil
Sydenham police are investigating a case of child grooming at a Westville school after a male teacher allegedly sent explicit messages to a 12-year-old pupil.
The situation came to light when the girl's mother noticed a sudden change in her daughter's behaviour.
Chairperson of the School Governing Body at Pitlochry Primary School, Veran Jankee, says that’s when the shocking discovery was made.
"Fortunately, the parent was on top of it. She started digging further and established that there were TikTok chats. When she found that out, she notified the school, and then we took it through the process."
Furious parents gathered outside the school's locked gates on Tuesday morning demanding answers and clarity on what action is being taken against the teacher.
One of the protesters says her child just recently started attending the school but is now considering taking her out as she doesn’t feel she will be safe there.
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"I was going ballistic. You are sending them to school trusting teachers and this is what you hear. It is really crazy, and I think the school had two weeks to solve the situation. No correspondence."
KZN Education spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi, says a preliminary investigation has also revealed previous misconduct allegations against the teacher.
"The educator himself has admitted to have done that, and upon deeper investigation we found that he also did the same at another school where we was."
On Tuesday in morning in a D6 message to parents, the school said the teacher had been removed while several investigations continue.
The schoolgirl is said to be receiving counselling.
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