SACE CEO Matseliso Dipholo told journalists on Monday that the council was expecting the rest of its financial year to be busy as an increased number of complaints of sexual offences had been brought to them to investigate this year.

“When we do analysis it means we will have a busy year because our year only ends in March,” said Dipholo.

“We have a feeling that [in] 2016 there is going to be a bit of a rise especially in sexual cases because we are getting them more and more, and they are spread in all the provinces. Usually we get these cases in one or two provinces.”

Dipholo said since April the council has investigated 50 cases of sexual offences by teachers, in comparison to the 97 complaints that were brought in the previous financial year.

Educators stabbing each other

According to Dipholo, corporal punishment cases have also increased this year with 140 cases under investigation, compared to the 160 cases investigated in the same period last year.

“We had 97 sexual cases and 160 corporal punishment [cases] last year which was the highest cases we had received. This year we are sitting at about 50 sexual cases. If in October already we have 50 cases, it means we have picked up an increase.

“Also with corporal punishment, we have 140 cases from April,” she said.

She said the council had also recorded an increase in cases of assaults against colleagues. She said extreme cases involved educators stabbing one another.

“In 2016, educators are fighting among themselves. How do we then say it’s a professional environment when people are able to say insulting things… to the extent [that they are] stabbing each other?”