A Ngqeleni teacher has found himself in hot water after he was suspended by the department of education following a video that has gone viral on social media showing him allegedly assaulting a pupil.
The department has confirm suspending the teacher after the alleged assault of the grade nine pupil from Matanzima Junior Senior Secondary School in Maqanyeni village.
The incident occurred after the pupil allegedly failed to account for why he had not done his homework when asked by the teacher.
The video has caused a stir of comments on Facebook as the teacher is seen aggressively manhandling the teen and with other pupils screaming.
Comments under the post state that the teacher could have sent the pupil out of the class or found another alternative to discipline him.
According to the SGB chair Noxolile Funani of Matanzima, the quarrel results from a rude response from the pupil after being questioned for not doing his homework on Tuesday.
“His group did not do their homework and when he was questioned, he rudely responded to the teacher and that is when the teacher aggressively responded towards him.”
Funani said they tried to speak to his parents apologising on behalf of the school, however, the parents did not accept the apology.
“In handling the situation, we tried to speak to his parent on behalf of the school, but they did not want to hear us, as they were angry, and went to report to the department of education.
“The child is fine and he still attends school while the teacher is suspended after the inspectors visited [on Thursday] for further investigation on the matter.
“We are shocked as this is the first incident in the school,” Funani said, adding that there was an uncomfortable atmosphere at the school.
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola of Khula Development Project said it was devastating to see that there were still teachers involved in such incidents.
“The child might have disrespectfully responded but the teacher must try to be calm. It does not look good to see teachers being disciplined for something they could have avoided,” he said.
Majola urged parents to discipline their children to have manners so the teachers can teach and not spend time disciplining pupils, as they ‘end up in trouble for doing so’.
“In addition, the education should have a programme where teachers attend a session for dealing with depression, just for them to have relief,” he said.
Education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed that the teacher was suspended on Thursday.
“He was suspended yesterday but the department is following up with an investigation to determine what happened. The team was appointed by the district manager and has started its job. The child today received psychosocial support for debriefing and counselling,” he said.
Mtima said a stopgap measure is being established by the district to ensure pupils were taught in the meantime.
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