South Africa's education departments have checked only a fraction of school staff against the sex-offender register, and the register is missing over 10,000 convicted offenders, the Human Rights Commission found.
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A South African Human Rights Commission report released on 29 June 2026, 'Sexual Violence at Schools: A Crisis of Fragmentation, Delayed Integration, Incomplete Register Population, and Uneven Enforcement,' found that as of 31 January 2026 provincial education departments had identified 405,738 educators and staff needing vetting but had submitted only 103,366 police record forms and received 52,008 National Register for Sex Offenders certificates, roughly 25% and 13% of the target. Limpopo had submitted 881 forms out of a target of 51,446. The Register's own Registrar told the Commission that 10,748 convicted offenders who should be on the Register are not, because court orders were missing or delayed. The Commission also found the education department acknowledged educators investigated in one province had resurfaced in another.
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Contacted and made an on-record admission — exact wording not on record.
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