“According to information at our disposal since the schools reopened on Tuesday, 17 July, 2018, the said principal has not yet reported for work and he is not at home either, and as such it is suspected that he is missing,” the department said in a statement.

Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi visited the school on Thursday. Neither he nor his spokesperson were immediately available for further comment.

A poster added to the South African Teachers Facebook group said that Phillip du Plessis, 55, was last seen in a grey tracksuit at the Carnival shopping centre on July 4.

Boksburg North police spokesperson Captain Juanita Coetzer confirmed that a missing person’s case was opened on Wednesday morning.

“We are following up on all the leads. The investigating officer followed up on information yesterday [Wednesday] morning, but we still haven’t found him,” she said. DM