Teacher beaten after allegedly having sex with pupil

• A Limpopo teacher and deputy principal has been suspended amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
• He has been accused of having sex with a pupil at the school.
• The teacher was reportedly assaulted by angry community members.

The deputy principal of a school in Seleteng Ga-Mphahlele, outside Lebowakgomo in Limpopo, was placed on precautionary suspension after he allegedly had sex with a pupil.

A video which has been shared on social media shows the naked teacher standing outside the school gate, bloodied from injuries sustained during a beating. It is alleged that community members beat him after they caught him having sex with the pupil.

Limpopo education department spokesperson Mike Maringa said the department was aware of the video clip.

According to Maringa, the teacher is the deputy principal at a secondary school in Seleteng Ga-Mphahlele.

"The educator, who was allegedly assaulted, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a learner at the school where he works," Maringa said.

He added that the department was investigating the incident.

Maringa said:

"The teacher is placed on precautionary suspension, pending the finalisation of the matter. We do not have a report of such happening in the school premises. It is alleged that it happened outside the school premises," he added.

South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said a sexual relationship between a teacher and a pupil was unethical.

Depending on the age of the child, the act may even be illegal, she added.

"We've seen a rise in such cases. They are bringing the profession into dispute and we strongly condemn this," she said.

Cembi added that the community should not have resorted to violence but should have reported the matter via the correct channels.

"We condemn what the teacher did and understand that the parents are angry, but we are concerned that matters are dealt with violently. We would have advised parents to report the matter to the authorities, rather than take the law into their own hands."