Johannesburg - Ongoing allegations of brutal corporal punishment at a Limpopo high school are to be addressed after a disgruntled pupil took pictures of a teacher beating pupils with a piece of piping.
For several weeks, there have been regular complaints of incidents of corporal punishment at Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, in the Vhembe region.
It is a non-fee-paying school and one of the largest in the area, with an average of 1 000 new enrolments every year.
Several teachers said they had alerted the circuit manager and district officials about the maladministration and mismanagement, but nothing had been done.
This week, one of the pupils took a picture on his cellphone of a teacher raising a pipe to strike pupils.
The image, which has spread, prompted a meeting tomorrow between Limpopo Education Department officials, the school governing body and members of the Congress of South African Students.
A decision is also expected then on what action should be taken against the teacher who was photographed.
Department spokesman Dr Naledzani Rasila said the department was aware of the allegations made against the school and that they would be investigated.
Basic Education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said: “We are concerned that corporal punishment is still being practised in schools around the country. It’s not only in Limpopo.
“The South African Council for Educators (SACE) does a lot of work to remind teachers about their legal duties and responsibilities as far as corporal punishment is concerned.”
SACE is an oversight body that was established to uphold professional standards and to discipline teachers found to have contravened the law.
Mphaphuli High pupils say several teachers regularly use corporal punishment.
“We are being beaten for not tucking in our shirts. We are also being beaten for arriving a few minutes late,” said one pupil.
Others said they were beaten for wearing colourful belts that were not part of the school uniform and for some of their hairstyles.
“The whole situation is so painful to us as girls because we are being beaten on our backs and buttocks for having colourful hairstyles,” said a Grade 11 pupil.
A teacher, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised, said: “Here the only communication is a sjambok.
“There is no learner representative committee at the school for learners who have grievances.
“If you try to voice your concerns on behalf of the pupils, you end up being victimised.”
Plastic plumbing pipes and sticks are some of the objects allegedly used to hit pupils on their backs, buttocks and palms of their hands.
Efforts to obtain comments from the school principal at the time of publication failed.
The Star and Health-e News