A Elsies River mother is seeking answers after her son who is Grade 7 attending Elnor Primary School came home after being hit laat die houe le.
The learner came home with a bruised arm after allegedly being hit with a piece of water pipe by his subject teacher.
The mother from Epping Forest claims that the incident took place on 12 March and after multiple complaints to the school, nothing has been done.
The angry mom says: “My child came home with bruises on his arm and I was told that his subject teacher hit him.
"It was not only him there were more children in the class. I was very unhappy and went to the school the next day. I spoke to his class teacher and the secretary as the principal was unavailable.”
“The class teacher said they will give me a date when I need to be back at the school and we will sort it out. Until now, no one got back to me. I am still not happy because the teacher is still at school.
“My son explained that they were sitting in class busy with an activity, then the teacher would tell them pens down, tell jokes or stories. When the period was over, they were not done with their activity and the teacher started hitting them.
“I am all for discipline and keeping them for detention. But as far as I know a teacher is not supposed to hit a child especially like that where the bruises lay. I don’t even hit my children like that.”
The mother says this is not the first incident as she once arrived home from work at 5pm and her child was still at school, adding: “We live in a gang-ingested area where there is constant shooting, and my child was kept after school without my knowledge. I went to the school and got my child.”
Millicent Merton, spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department said: “The principal has indicated that the alleged incident was not reported to them, so our district office will investigate the claims and take action accordingly.
“Corporal punishment is illegal according to Section 10 of the South African Schools Act, and those found guilty of engaging in the practice can face fines and/or imprisonment.
“Our department has a zero-tolerance approach against such abuse, and we have put extensive policies and protocols in place for incidents to be reported and acted upon.
“The ‘Abuse No More’ protocol outlines in detail the process to be followed when a learner reports any kind of abuse, providing advice on reporting procedures, how to support victims, and how to deal with perpetrators.
“We have a strong support pathway in place to ensure that learners receive the help they need from our district specialist support staff, counsellors and social workers, non-governmental organisations and other Western Cape Government departments.”
ZERO TOLERANCE: WCED's Millicent Merton
Image: File