The parents of two schoolchildren say their children suffered abuse at the hands of their teachers.
In one incident, the arm of a 12-year-old at Kuswag Primary School in East London was fractured, allegedly when a teacher aimed a soccer ball at him.
According to the mother it was not the first time the teacher had “mishandled” her son.
The second case involves a seven-year-old pupil from Masijongane Primary School in Ndevana who has not been to school for two months due to alleged verbal abuse from her teacher.
The Eastern Cape department of education has confirmed it is looking into both matters.
Speaking to the Dispatch, Nontombi Gwele, the mother of the Kuswag pupil, said she had received a call on March 6 telling her that her son was injured.
“I called an ambulance to fetch him because I was still at work.
“After work I went straight to the hospital, where the doctor confirmed he had a fracture around the arm,” said Gwele.
Gwele said her son said he had been hit by a ball while playing soccer. “The following day I received a call from a teacher apologising about what happened. Later that day a concerned parent informed me that the same teacher who called to apologise had injured my son,” said Gwele.
Gwele said when asked, her son admitted the teacher had deliberately kicked the ball at him after he told the teacher he was too tired to continue practising.
“During a meeting with the principal and the teacher, a number of incidents of alleged physical abuse on my son by the same teacher came up.
“The teacher admitted hitting my son with a set of keys on the head but denied hitting his head against the wall,” said Gwele.
Gwele said the principal suggested she send him the medical bill from the recent incident so he could reimburse her.
Yesterday Kuswag principal Johan Schwartz confirmed he was aware of the matter but said was not allowed to speak to the media. “As much as I want to say something I am not allowed to. You will have to speak to the education department,” he said.
In the other case, Nomfundiso Ndlazi says her daughter, who is diabetic, was too terrified to go back to school due to alleged verbal abuse from her class teacher. Ndlazi’s daughter is in Grade 2 at Masijongane Primary School in Ndevana.
Speaking to the Dispatch Ndlazi, a former SGB chairwoman at the school, said the teacher’s name calling and humiliation of her daughter started last year after she and other SGB members were against nominating the teacher for the principal’s position. “She wanted to be the principal, but we had someone else in mind. So when she did not get the post she blamed me.
“She constantly humiliated my child, swore at her and called her a names such as witch.”
Ndlazi said after numerous attempts to get the teacher to stop abusing her child, her daughter refused to go back to school.
Education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said they were attending to both matters.
“We have established that the teacher at Kuswag was employed in an SGB post, and therefore we will have to meet with the SGB members before taking any action,” he said.
“In the case of Masijongane, as a temporary solution we have moved the teacher to another class while labour relation procedures take place.” — arethal@dispatch.co.za
Teachers accused of assault: One child is too terrified to go to school
In one incident, the arm of a 12-year-old at Kuswag Primary School in East London was fractured, allegedly when a teacher aimed a soccer ball at him.
According to the mother it was not the first time the teacher had “mishandled” her son.
The second case involves a seven-year-old pupil from Masijongane Primary School in Ndevana who has not been to school for two months due to alleged verbal abuse from her teacher.
The Eastern Cape department of education has confirmed it is looking into both matters.
Speaking to the Dispatch, Nontombi Gwele, the mother of the Kuswag pupil, said she had received a call on March 6 telling her that her son was injured.
“I called an ambulance to fetch him because I was still at work.
“After work I went straight to the hospital, where the doctor confirmed he had a fracture around the arm,” said Gwele.
Gwele said her son said he had been hit by a ball while playing soccer. “The following day I received a call from a teacher apologising about what happened. Later that day a concerned parent informed me that the same teacher who called to apologise had injured my son,” said Gwele.
Gwele said when asked, her son admitted the teacher had deliberately kicked the ball at him after he told the teacher he was too tired to continue practising.
“During a meeting with the principal and the teacher, a number of incidents of alleged physical abuse on my son by the same teacher came up.
“The teacher admitted hitting my son with a set of keys on the head but denied hitting his head against the wall,” said Gwele.
Gwele said the principal suggested she send him the medical bill from the recent incident so he could reimburse her.
Yesterday Kuswag principal Johan Schwartz confirmed he was aware of the matter but said was not allowed to speak to the media. “As much as I want to say something I am not allowed to. You will have to speak to the education department,” he said.
In the other case, Nomfundiso Ndlazi says her daughter, who is diabetic, was too terrified to go back to school due to alleged verbal abuse from her class teacher. Ndlazi’s daughter is in Grade 2 at Masijongane Primary School in Ndevana.
Speaking to the Dispatch Ndlazi, a former SGB chairwoman at the school, said the teacher’s name calling and humiliation of her daughter started last year after she and other SGB members were against nominating the teacher for the principal’s position. “She wanted to be the principal, but we had someone else in mind. So when she did not get the post she blamed me.
“She constantly humiliated my child, swore at her and called her a names such as witch.”
Ndlazi said after numerous attempts to get the teacher to stop abusing her child, her daughter refused to go back to school.
Education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said they were attending to both matters.
“We have established that the teacher at Kuswag was employed in an SGB post, and therefore we will have to meet with the SGB members before taking any action,” he said.
“In the case of Masijongane, as a temporary solution we have moved the teacher to another class while labour relation procedures take place.” — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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