Today's Labour News

newsThis news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.

Durban teacher fired for sending sex messages to 12-year-old girl

Details

ELRCTimesLIVE Premium reports that a Durban primary schoolteacher who admitted to inappropriate sex talk with a young girl but who pleaded remorse and begged not to be fired as his cancer-stricken mother depended on him, has been dismissed.

Adrian Clinton Govinden, a former teacher at Pitlochry Primary School in Westville, has been declared a sex offender and banned from working with children. Govinden was charged with misconduct earlier this year after being accused of grooming a 12-year-old girl by sending her sexually explicit messages through TikTok and WhatsApp in March. Govinden pleaded guilty to the offence of sexual grooming. He apologised for his actions, conceding he had crossed the line and breached the code of conduct and ethics. He claimed he was sorry and described his actions as something that he would have to live with for the rest of his life. Govinden said he hoped that the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) education department would be lenient and issue him with a suspension or a written warning or allow him to resign rather than be dismissed because of the reputational damage he would suffer and the implications for his prospects of future employment.

KZN education department’s Nontobeko Mazibuko argued that Govinden was aware of the rules and knew his actions constituted a dismissible offence and was only sorry because his career was at stake. She said Govinden had betrayed the trust placed in him by the department and parents, and he should be declared unfit to work with children. Education Labour Relations Council arbitrator Ntombizonke Mbili agreed.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Gill Gifford at TimesLIVE Premium (subscriber access only)


Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page