ONGWEDIVA – The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture will not divulge its findings on the probe by the education directorate on an intimacy between a principal and a learner.
Officials in the education directorate in Ohangwena probed the alleged principal-learner intimate relationship between the principal and a Grade 9 learner at Omhanda Combined School.
The Executive Director in the education ministry Sanet Steenkamp said she was not at liberty to disclose the findings contained in the regional report. She added an independent investigation will also be launched and the findings will be forwarded to the Office of the Prime Minister for a ruling.
“Investigations are still ongoing, but I can confirm that I have received and read the report from the region. But, at the completion of these investigations we are not going to share the findings with the public,” Steenkamp. In response to a question weather principal-learner relationships are commonplace and the ministry receives such reports yearly, Steenkamp said the biggest challenge with such cases in most cases is that in the end the learners withdraw the cases. Previously the culprits bribed the learners’ parents to keep information under wraps.
She said they deny the relationship and goes further to change their initial statements making it difficult to bring to book perpetrators of such immoral acts.
“Even the parents come and deny knowing about the relationship and that hurts the case,” Steenkamp said.
In addition, Steenkamp said the heartache does not only end with the denial of the case, but it is also waste resources, time and even energy used to carry out the investigation.
“And if we do not have credible information, then the whole case is in jeopardy,” Steenkamp said.
With those already found guilty, the ministry was hoping that their punishment would be a lesson to would be offenders; however that has not been the case.
Once found guilty, the executive director said the culprit is discharged from public service.