The father of the Grade 10 Dale College pupil who was caught on camera being shoved into a refuse metal drum by five other pupils says his son, 15, has been bullied since day one at the school.
The concerned parent, who cannot be named to protect his son’s identity, said the recent act of bullying could have been prevented had the school acted on the first incident, which he reported to the school three years ago when his son was in Grade 8.
As a result, the father says, he is considering taking legal action against the school for failing to protect his son while in its care, as well as the school governing body (SGB) for failing to refer to the school policy on bullying when dealing with the recent incident.
The father claims the school has not even offered his son counseling, and he accused principal Mike Eddy of being more concerned about protecting the school’s image than his son’s safety and wellbeing.
“They haven’t offered him any help. Instead they continued to victimise him by interrogating him,” he said.
The father said when his son was in Grade 8, he and other pupils were taken to the hall and forced to sing, and were given only five minutes of break to have their lunch.
“He was ordered to bring an egg and to write his name on a piece of cardboard and hang it around his neck.
“I ordered him not to do it but he was afraid, saying he would be assaulted by senior boys.”
The concerned father said he called the school to inform Eddy about the alleged actions against his son but Eddy told him “initiation is the culture of Dale College”.
Unsatisfied with Eddy’s response, the father said he wrote an e-mail to the school on January 15 2016 demanding answers, but the school never replied.
Eddy declined to comment, saying the department of education and the SGB were dealing with the matter.
When called for comment, an SGB member – a Mr Scheepers, whom the Dispatch was referred to by the school’s secretary – said he was in a meeting and was therefore unable to talk.
The 10 seconds of cellphone footage that shows five Grade 10 pupils grabbing the kicking and screaming pupil and squashing his body into the metal refuse drum was shared widely on social media. — arethal@
dispatch.co.za
Dad of bullied Dale pupil considers legal action against school, SGB
The concerned parent, who cannot be named to protect his son’s identity, said the recent act of bullying could have been prevented had the school acted on the first incident, which he reported to the school three years ago when his son was in Grade 8.
As a result, the father says, he is considering taking legal action against the school for failing to protect his son while in its care, as well as the school governing body (SGB) for failing to refer to the school policy on bullying when dealing with the recent incident.
The father claims the school has not even offered his son counseling, and he accused principal Mike Eddy of being more concerned about protecting the school’s image than his son’s safety and wellbeing.
“They haven’t offered him any help. Instead they continued to victimise him by interrogating him,” he said.
The father said when his son was in Grade 8, he and other pupils were taken to the hall and forced to sing, and were given only five minutes of break to have their lunch.
“He was ordered to bring an egg and to write his name on a piece of cardboard and hang it around his neck.
“I ordered him not to do it but he was afraid, saying he would be assaulted by senior boys.”
The concerned father said he called the school to inform Eddy about the alleged actions against his son but Eddy told him “initiation is the culture of Dale College”.
Unsatisfied with Eddy’s response, the father said he wrote an e-mail to the school on January 15 2016 demanding answers, but the school never replied.
Eddy declined to comment, saying the department of education and the SGB were dealing with the matter.
When called for comment, an SGB member – a Mr Scheepers, whom the Dispatch was referred to by the school’s secretary – said he was in a meeting and was therefore unable to talk.
The 10 seconds of cellphone footage that shows five Grade 10 pupils grabbing the kicking and screaming pupil and squashing his body into the metal refuse drum was shared widely on social media. — arethal@
dispatch.co.za
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