No verified provincial data on educator checks against sex-offender and child-protection registers - IOL
The Department of Basic Education cannot provide verified provincial figures showing how many educators and other school personnel have been vetted against South Africa’s two child-protection registers since 2019.
The revelation was made by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube when she was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Ciska Jordaan, who wanted to know what measures her department was using to ensure all educators and other personnel at schools were vetted.
In her response, Gwarube said the department advised her that it did not have verified year-by-year provincial information on the number of names of teachers added or removed from the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) or number of teachers who have been vetted and registered by the South African Council of Educators (SACE) .
She said the NRSO was administered by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
“The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the competent authority to provide verified information on additions and removals from the NRSO.”
However, Gwarube said provincial Education Departments were responsible for ensuring that relevant employees are vetted and, where required, that the necessary information is submitted to the competent authority in terms of the applicable legislation.”
“The department has advised that the provincial departments undertake criminal background and statutory suitability checks in the course of recruitment and employment.”
The minister also said she has elevated the pace of vetting by NRSO and National Child Protection Register as a learner safeguarding priority.
“At the Council of Education Ministers meeting of 17 July 2026, provinces were required to accelerate the vetting of both prospective and serving educators and other personnel with access to learners. The Minister has also been engaging on operational constraints affecting the processing of NRSO applications.”
Gwarube added that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has issued 71,472 NRSO certificates during 2026.
Similarly on the National Child Protection Register (NCPR), Gwarube said the national department monitored vetting undertaken by provincial departments rather than the administration of additions or removals from the register administered by the Social Development Department.
A total of 167,143 vetting checks were conducted by the provincial departments as at August 7.
Gwarube further said her department has not collected information on teachers vetted by SACE because it was unable to provide a verified figure for the number of persons vetted against the NCPR and NRSO since 2019.
“Verified information in this regard would need to be obtained from SACE. The department has further advised that an applicant who is found by SACE to be a sex offender, or who otherwise does not satisfy the applicable fit-to-teach requirements, may not be registered as an educator.”
Gwarube clarified that the vetting of educators and relevant school personnel is the responsibility of employers in terms of applicable legislation.
Employers can be the provincial departments or a person managing or operating a school.
They are required in terms of the Criminal Law Amendment Act to screen current and prospective employees against the National Register for Sex Offenders to determine their suitability to work with vulnerable persons.
She said her department supported and monitored implementation of these statutory obligations by provincial education departments and engage the relevant administering departments on operational constraints affecting vetting.
