A teacher is someone a child is supposed to be able to trust, someone who teaches them, guides them and, in many cases, becomes another important adult in their lives. But what happens when that trust is abused?
We’re seeing renewed concern in South Africa around allegations of teachers sexually harassing learners, grooming them and in some cases, being in relationships with them. The numbers are disturbing, SACE recorded 826 sexual-misconduct complaints involving educators between 2021 and 2025, while the Education Labour Relations Council recorded 469 cases between 2018/19 and 2024/25. And behind every statistic is a child, a family and a school community potentially dealing with the consequences. But there’s another conversation we need to have. When does a teacher simply cross a professional boundary, and when does that behaviour become grooming? And are we sometimes normalising relationships between teachers and learners by calling them relationships when there is an enormous imbalance of age, authority and power. Kefentse Mkhari is in conversation with Education Specialist, Sibusiso Gama and Social Commentator, Emmanuel Masuku