I Had To Clear My Name

She was falsely accused of assaulting five boys and fought to prove her innocence – now Carin isn’t sure she could be a teacher again

- Carla Coetzee

SHE’D always dreamt of becoming a teacher, like her mother and grandmother before her.

She wanted to stand in front of a class, help children discover their talent and instil a love of languages in young minds.

But after 20 years as a teacher, Carin Pinkham’s dream turned into a nightmare when she was accused of assaulting five Grade 4 boys at Kommando Primary School in Brakpan on Gauteng’s East Rand. She was told to leave the premises and was later dismissed.

For the next two years Carin tried to prove her innocence – and she recently succeeded.

“My name was dragged through the mud. I lost friends. But never once did I stop fighting these charges because I knew I was innocent,” Carin (50) tells YOU.

She finally won her case on appeal when the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) cleared her of all charges. The pupils who’d testified against her in camera told conflicting stories and all evidence was purely hearsay, the council found.

“Children in Grade 4 are able to fabricate events, adopt someone else’s story and knowingly say things just to harm a teacher’s reputation because they don’t like being disciplined,” the council’s findings state.

The ELRC also ordered the Gauteng education department to pay Carin six months’ salary – just more than R150 000 – for unfair dismissal.

Carin was elated when the council vindicated her. If she chooses to, she may resume her teaching career – but the experience has left her so rattled she isn’t sure she wants to set foot in a classroom again.