Any teacher who is found to be in a sexual relationship with a student will be dismissed, according to an order issued by the Ministry of Education in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.
The directive comes after a Cornerstones’ Vision Academy teacher allegedly sexually assaulted a Senior 3 student and fled, resulting in the arrest of five of his colleagues recently.
The student had met the lover-teacher somewhere in town when he forced himself on her, a school committee heard last week. After the act, the unnamed teenager then told her parents, who later reported the matter to the police.
School authorities identified the suspect as Francis Oliatum, a geography and history teacher from Uganda.
The Director General at the ministry, Santino Bol Akot, told Akol Yam Fm in an interview that the five teachers, who are now in police custody in connection to the rape case, will not be allowed to teach in accordance with the order.
“We want all the teachers to comply with the code of conduct. It doesn’t matter whether they are teaching in a government, community, church, or private schools, the teacher must abide by the policy,” Bol explained.
The official said love affairs between teachers and learners is unethical, according to teachers’ code of conduct as it distracts learners from studies, creating conflict of interest between studies and a relationship.
The authority mandates Parents-Teachers Associations to monitor and report to the ministry any sign of misconducts between female teachers and male learners and male teachers and girls as the order applies to all.