A primary school teacher in Mpumalanga has been dismissed after the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) found him guilty of misconduct involving a Grade 7 pupil. The Mpumalanga Department of Education initiated disciplinary action against Andries Lodewick Lombaard, who was an English teacher at Laerskool Klipfontein in Emalahleni. The matter was referred to the ELRC following allegations that he kissed a 13-year-old pupil on two occasions earlier this year.
During the arbitration hearing, the Grade 7 pupil testified that Lombaard taught her English during the 2024 academic year, but was no longer her teacher in 2025. She told the council that they became closer in November 2024. According to her testimony, they communicated through WhatsApp statuses and Snapchat, exchanging text messages and random pictures.
The 13-year-old girl said she frequently visited Lombaard’s classroom, sometimes with other pupils and at other times alone. She testified that the first kissing incident occurred during February or March this year in the storeroom attached to Lombaard’s classroom, where the teacher kissed her, and she reciprocated. She said the second incident occurred a few days later, again in the storeroom, when she hugged Lombaard before they kissed.
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The pupil told the ELRC that she later confided in another pupil, who reported the matter to the school’s after-care worker, Natalie Pienaar. When Pienaar questioned the 13-year-old about the incident, she admitted to the kissing.
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