Teacher caught on video beating Grade R pupil
A teacher in Soshanguve, Tshwane is caught on video beating a pupil, what really happened? Please note that this video is not for sensitive viewers.
What are the rules surrounding corporal punishment in schools in South Africa? Do you know? Does it matter?
These are all important questions and it pays to be informed. At the end of the day, no one should support any form of violence, however, being informed about the law and also trying to source ways of dealing with discipline in schools is valuable for both teachers and the Department of Education.
According to the End Violence Against Children (South Africa) website, "On 18 September 2019, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that the common law defence of ‘reasonable and moderate chastisement' was unconstitutional, effectively banning all corporal punishment of children."
This leads us to another video being released online...
A video that is doing its rounds online shows a teacher beating a pupil in a very aggressive manner. What actually happened prior to this behaviour is unknown at present.
The teacher is from Nchuncheko Primary School in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, and the incident is said to have happened last Thursday. The video sparked outrage and anger in the community, when they gathered outside the school asking for some action to be taken against the teacher.
The teacher has since been dismissed after an internal inquiry and the Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: "We’ve acted on the matter. The teacher was immediately removed from the school last week and facing a disciplinary hearing for Monday 24 May. We’ve also requested that counseling must be provided to all affected learners.”
One person commented on the Twitter post, saying the following: "This is WRONG! We must also bear in mind there are parents who tell teachers to smack their children if thy misbehave. In Townships and rural areas corporal punishment is still used and the parents advocate for it. Attend one of the parents meetings..."
You can view the video in question HERE, but be warned that it is not for sensitive viewers.
The teacher in question has been employed at the school for 20 years and her "old-school' style of discipline is being rejected by community members.
Sometimes, not enough attention is paid to the fact that our kids are simply kids, and their behaviour can be uncontrollable, perhaps there should be some way of grooming teachers to handle discipline in a constructive way?
So we want to ask you - are you a teacher or parent? Tell us what you think about this situation.
Image Courtesy of Twitter