Johannesburg - Footage showing a pupil assaulting another in class, allegedly in the presence of a teacher who seems unbothered by the attack, has enraged the Gauteng Department of Education.
The video, recorded at a school for pupils with special needs in the Vaal, shows a man believed to be the teacher nonchalantly going about his job as a pupil is brutally slapped, punched and kneed in front of him.
The attack happened on Friday, and the department was alerted to it on Sunday when concerned people personally called Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi and his spokeswoman, Phumla Sekhonyane, informing them of the video’s existence.
“We are enraged and condemn what happened in the strongest terms, it is unacceptable. Schools should be a place that is conducive to learning,” Sekhonyane said.
She added that the department had since sent a labour relations officer to the school to investigate the incident and whether there was sufficient supervision of the pupils at the time of the attack.
The footage, which runs for a minute and 51 seconds, shows the attacker looking into the camera, smiling and approaching his victim, who is seated. The victim is shown biting his nails, and his body language suggests fear.
The attacker leans in and starts asking his victim a question, then suddenly slaps him hard across the face. As the boy registers the shock of what has just happened, the attacker punches and knees him.
The video shows the attacker talking again to his victim, who then looks up, only to be punched in the face.
The attacker asks his victim more questions, leaning into his face as he does so. The victim looks up at his attacker in fear, rubbing the left cheek where he has just been slapped and punched.
The camera then focuses on a man in a tracksuit, supposedly a teacher, who is seated and marking books in front of him as the attack happens.
Another pupil is behind the victim, recording the incident.
There are a few other people in the classroom who are just standing, watching the attack.
A few seconds later, the attacker knees his victim again.
Having had enough, the victim shouts “Los my uit” (leave me alone), and starts getting up, moving away from his attacker. The camera follows the victim as he walks away. His attacker can be heard in the background shouting at him and laughing, but his exact words are inaudible.
Sekhonyane said they were waiting for a report on the incident from the school, but they had been informed that the principal had met the parents of the victim on Sunday.
“We are concerned that this was not reported to us. All incidents that pose a threat to learning and teaching at school should be reported to the department,” she said, adding that the department would deal with the teacher, while the attacker would be dealt with by the school governing body.
The Star