15.04.2025
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Gauteng Education cuts ties with Nal’Bali after sexual assault claim

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  • Children on the first day of school

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The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has terminated its partnership with Nal’bali after allegations that one of its practitioners sexually assaulted a grade three pupil.

The GDE bemoaned the alleged incident and said children should be protected and not harmed.

Nal’Bali is a national reading-for-enjoyment campaign that seeks to spark and embed a culture of reading in children from birth to 12 years of age.

The department said Nal’Bali practitioners are not employed by the department.

Nal’Bali Child Protection Officer Sibongiseni Blose says this is unfortunate and goes against what they stand for.

“This incident is devastating and goes against Nal’Bali’s core values and our child protection policy, which has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse. This harmful action of one individual does not represent the values and the integrity of our team. The safety and the well-being of our children are at the center of everything that we do.”

Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education Steve Mabona says children should be safe and protected on school premises.

“School safety in our premises is a priority. You might have seen that we have been communicating with communities, focusing on making sure that our environment is safe. We also had safety summits in all our regions so that we put an emphasis on the safety of our children. We will interact with that and see how we move forward. No Nal’Bali personnel can be in our school.” 

 

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