Johannesburg - The South Africa Council for Educators (Sace) has designated an investigator to closely deal with the PJ Simelane Secondary School allegations in Dobsonville, Soweto, around the death of a 16-year-old learner who died by suicide.
Allegations are that a Grade 9 learner Tiro Moalusi died by suicide after being mocked by a student teacher at the school over his sexuality.
Sace’s Risuna Nkuna confirmed to IOL that the professional council for educators has put in measures to address allegations around Moalusi's death.
He stated that the investigator has already interacted with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) district officials to assist with the investigation and make sure that progress is made and results are there.
However, in a statement released by GDE, it said that the department has withdrawn the student teacher from her duties while the Sace investigating officer is still probing the matter.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “We wish to convey our sincere condolences to the family and the school community. We strongly condemn any discrimination by both learners and educators, and we wish to remind all schools that any form of abuse will not be tolerated in our environment."
The GDE has since dispatched a safety co-ordinator to the school for support regarding bullying, safety, and advocacy on gender-based issues. “Our Psycho-Social Unit also deployed a team of psychologists to provide counselling to learners at the school,” the GDE said.
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