Johannesburg - An 11-year-old tried to kill herself after allegedly being placed in a lower grade as punishment.
Allegations are that when the Grade 5 pupil at a private Catholic school in Johannesburg laughed in class, the teacher accused her of laughing at her and sent her to Grade 4.
The teacher also wrote a letter to the mother, saying her daughter had been put back a grade as she often misbehaved. Going back to Grade 5 would be dependent on her attitude.
When the girl arrived home, she took a concoction of pills and was in a hospital's intensive care unit for two days. Her enraged mother said her child’s punishment was not only inappropriate, but harsh.
“My daughter is at a developmental age, and embarrassing her like that would have knocked her self-esteem and self-worth.”
What made her even angrier was the principal’s response. She said the principal had told her that her daughter often misbehaved, and her suicide attempt was a way to deflect from her bad behaviour.
“She added salt to the injury by saying my child was an attention-seeker,” the mother added.
When, the Daily News's sister paper, The Star contacted the school, the principal was away.
The school’s head of department said there were always two sides to a story, but as a case was pending, she would not comment.
The Star also tried to get a comment from the Catholic Schools Office, but was told those authorised to comment were at a conference.
Educational psychologist Cara Blackie said this punishment was meant to humiliate and scare a child and her classmates, but did not result in the child learning from her mistake.
A child shouldn’t go to school with fear, she said.
Clinical psychologist Ketso Moorosi called the punishment cruel and damaging to a child.
“There are positive ways of punishing by making them sit closer to you in class or do extra work," she said.