The Eastern Cape Department of Education has condemned the brazen kidnapping of a teacher at a school in the Nelson Mandela Bay District on Monday morning.

The 45-year-old teacher was snatched at around 8 am as she entered the school premises.

Her identity has not been released.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said at least three male suspects in a white Toyota Corolla ambushed her, forcibly removed her from her vehicle, and drove off with her.

“No ransom has been demanded yet.”

A kidnapping case was opened at SAPS Algoa Park and the SAPS Provincial Organised Crime Investigation (POCI) Unit is investigating.

Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade said: “Kidnapping of our educators is the worst thing to ever happen in the sector.

“Actions of this nature seek to undermine the hard-earned democratic right to life in a free country.”

The Department confirmed that the educator's disappearance is being treated as a high-priority case, and a multidisciplinary team has been dispatched to the affected school to offer psychosocial support and counseling to distressed staff and learners.

Gade made a plea to all citizens and authorities to assist in efforts to bring the educator home safely.

“We urge the police and all law enforcement agencies to bring her back as this has left her family, colleagues, and learners of the school in distress.”

Gade also called on the entire Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Metro to take a stand against criminal elements in their communities.

“We call upon all citizens of the Metro (NMB) to eject these elements in our society through working with the police and Community Policing Forum,” he said.

There has been a spate of kidnappings in the Eastern Cape in recent months.

In February a 9-year-old girl was kidnapped outside her school in Buffalo Flat in East London.

Fatima Emaan was snatched by three males and was released a week later. Three people were arrested in connection with her kidnapping.

Anyone with information on the incident can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 0860010111, or use the MySaps app.

Cape Times