SACE RESPONSE:
(a)(i) On the 28th March 2018 at the Department of Basic Education.
(ii) Names of all relevant struck-off educators with misconduct cases involving minors were sent to the Registrar for inclusion in the National Child Protection Register in April 2018.
The message that the SACE registration process will incorporate clearance certificates from the South African Police Services, National Child Protection Register and National Register of Sexual Offenses from 1st January 2019 has been advocated and communicated through the 52 letters sent directly to the stakeholders in April 2018 to communicate further to their members and constituencies. Additionally, the message was communicated further through the SACE teacher and stakeholder report was communicated as follows:
Section 125 of the Children’s Act will be implemented through the assistance of the Director-General of the DBE.
(b) The issue of Screening the Registration Applicants against the Child Protection Register was not explicit in the SACE Act. Hence SACE focused largely on registering the educators against the set Council approved criteria at the time.
With the clarification of the Registration processes in relation to the Children’s Act, corrective measures have been put in place. Hence the engagements between SACE, Department of Basic Education and Department of Social Development; putting systems into place internally, and ensuring key messages and implementation processes, on this matter, are advocated and communicated broadly to all the teachers and stakeholders.