THE Ministry of Education last week dismissed a Kavango school principal for allegedly giving a schoolgirl alcohol and then having sex with her in 2009. No criminal charge was ever registered.
Michael Sovi, who until last week was the principal of the Max Makushe secondary school, 180 km east of Rundu in the Mukwe constituency, received his marching orders from the ministry after he was found guilty of allegedly supplying four girls with alcohol and then allegedly having sex with one of them while she was drunk. The Ministry of Education conducted an investigation after the victim complained. A disciplinary process was set in motion, involving the Public Service Commission, and testimonies taken from the victim and witnesses. The incident is said to have happened one evening when Sovi and another male teacher allegedly called four schoolgirls to his school residence and provided alcohol to them – a practice that is against the teachers’ code of ethics. The second teacher is said to have resigned and left the country after the incident was reported to the education authorities. He is believed to be in Zimbabwe furthering his studies.The Namibian could not establish the ages of the girls. Education officials remained vague and evasive about her age, and were adamant that her age did not really matter when it came to internal disciplinary charges.No criminal charge was ever registered with the Police. If the girl was underage it would have been a criminal case of statutory rape and a charge would have had to be registered by the Ministry of Education. If she was abused while under the influence of alcohol, the case would again have had to be reported as rape. It is now of public importance that her age and the circumstances of the abuse be made known.The abuse of alcohol and the neglect of young people by teachers and parents, as an issue of national interest, was raised by Founding President Sam Nujoma over the weekend.Kavango Education Director Alphons Dikuua confirmed to The Namibian that Sovi was served with his dismissal letter last week, but that no criminal charge was laid against him.Sovi said he received the letter but refused to go into detail. ‘I am not ready to say anything yet,’ he said. Education Permanent Secretary Alfred Ilukena said the ministry would take action against those found transgressing public service rules and education regulations. He said once a principal was found guilty of such behaviour the ministry would dismiss him since he was no longer a role-model. ‘We cannot allow him to work in our institutions anymore,’ he said, adding that a principal was like the immediate parent of pupils and had to care for them like they were his own. He also said that no parent wanted to see their child consuming alcohol or indulging in sexual activities while at school.Nampa reports that Sovy is the third teacher in the Kavango Region who has been dismissed for alleged sexual affairs with pupils.Last year, a Rundu school principal was accused of rape after he allegedly impregnated a 15-year-old pupil at his school.The girl has since given birth and a case of rape is still pending in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court.The accused is the former principal of the Noordgrens Secondary School, 34-year-old Gervasius Sheende.Late last year, another teacher at the Shambyu Combined School, Ben Wakudumo, was dismissed after he allegedly had a sexual affair with a Grade 10 pupil at the school.- Additional reporting by Nampa
