A parent of a Lower Didimana Primary School pupil near Whittlesea is demanding the removal of the teacher who allegedly slapped her six-year-old boy, resulting in him losing a tooth, for writing a wrong answer in class.
The Chris Hani West education district is probing the incident, which allegedly happened on February 4.
Police spokesperson Captain Namhla Mdleleni said Kleinbulhoek police were investigating a case of assault.
The child’s mother, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her child, made extensive allegations against the teacher and school. She said pupils are not allowed to use a pencil eraser in the teacher’s class.
She claimed: “When [my son] wrote a wrong answer he did not erase it as they are not allowed to use a rubber in class. The teacher slapped him for the wrong answer and he lost a tooth [allegedly as a result of the assault] and had a swollen face when he came home,” she said.
She said her son could not sleep because of pain on his ear and face.
“We had to send him to a doctor the following day, who advised that he must get another tooth removed. Even after we went to the doctor, [my son] was afraid of the teacher and called my mother to go to school with him and report to the teacher why he was not at school,” she said.
The angry mother said she reported the matter to the department of education and principal Thenjiwe Bokweni.
“The principal and the teacher apologised but that is not enough.
“I am not happy with how the school handled the case and I am not fighting for my child only but other children at the school who are suffering the same as my child,” she said.
The mother said after a long meeting with the school principal, she was told to do whatever she wanted.
“Since the attack on my child by the teacher, his behaviour has changed and he is afraid of going to school or of making a mistake, fearing that he might be beaten,” said Twalo.
She said the department attended to the case and promised to get back to her as soon as the matter was finalised.
“I have opened a case with the Kleinbulhoek police station and I want the justice system to play its part in the matter,” she said.
Bokweni referred questions to the department.
Provincial education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said the alleged incident happened on February 4 in class and it was reported to the principal on February 7 by the child’s grandmother.
“The school conducted its own investigation of the matter and because of the nature of the incident, the principal escalated the matter to the district.
“The district is investigating and necessary steps will be taken after the investigation is complete,” he said...