Durban - A Phoenix mother whose child was allegedly assaulted by a teacher on two separate occasions wants the Education Department to act as the child now fears going to school.
Nomkhosi Zondi said her 10-year-old daughter, who goes to Lenham Primary School in Phoenix, came home with a swollen forehead on Monday afternoon after the teacher allegedly punched and slapped her in class. The child said she had a headache and had been crying.
The Grade 5 pupil said they had been given study material and she was fighting over it with a friend. The teacher apparently saw them and punched her in the face. The teacher wore a ring.
When she started crying, the teacher allegedly slapped her and said: “Go and tell your parents. It is what you are good at, but not at your school work”. The child said the other pupil was not touched.
Zondi said she felt her child would take time to regain her self-confidence in class because the teacher said she was not good at her school work.
Ntombe Nsizwana, the child’s aunt, said this was not the first incident. In April, the teacher assaulted the child. When they found out about that incident, the father of the child wrote to the teacher.
“The teacher phoned the child’s father and apologised. She said she had been depressed and slapping the child was a mistake. We forgave her and did not take it further,” she said.
Zondi said they took the child to a doctor and it was proved that she had been assaulted.
The Mercury has a copy of the J88 forms filled in by the doctor. The form serves as medical evidence in assault cases. In the form the doctor concluded the child had been struck and it was “an assault”.
After the doctor’s appointment, they went to the Phoenix police station intending to open a case against the teacher, but were told the offence was minor and not significant enough to have the teacher prosecuted.
They left but returned in the morning.
They talked to a police captain, who also told them the case would not be opened, but police officers would go to the school to warn the teacher.
“My child has been assaulted and I want the education officials to intervene,” she said.
When The Mercury contacted KwaZulu-Natal Education Department spokesman Sicelo Khuzwayo, he asked to be sent contact details of the parents, “so the department will investigate the matter”.
“We advise parents to report such incidents to local education authorities.
“A school principal is obliged to take the matter further to the department,” he said.
The Mercury phoned the school and the deputy principal, who identified herself as Mrs Govender, said the principal was away and she (Govender) could not authorise the teacher to talk to the media.
Police spokesman Thulani Zwane said the Phoenix police acted unlawfully in not opening a case.
He said no matter how minor the offence was, a case had to be opened.
After contacting the police station for clarification, Zwane said the child’s parents had been interviewed and had opted not to open a case, which Nsizwana disputed.