Durban - A teacher who accidentally hit a young boy in the eye with the tip of his belt while he was beating another pupil has cost the education department dearly. A Durban High Court judge ruled on Friday that it must cough up almost R4 million in damages.
It has been 10 years since Simphiwe Shange, who was a Grade 9 pupil at Gcwalulwazi High School in Eshowe, was left partially blinded in his right eye after deputy principal Moses Biyela unbuckled his belt and broke the law by administering corporal punishment.
Shange sued the KwaZulu-Natal education MEC as he said the injury had impeded his schooling and his ability to follow his dream of becoming a photographer.
The education department took the defence that the incident never happened.
Judge Dhaya Pillay ruled that the MEC was liable for the incident and awarded damages of R3.9m plus the costs of the action.
Her ruling should serve as a reminder to teachers that corporal punishment was not only unlawful but “unconscionable”, she said. The “thoughtless and accidental act” had caused devastating consequences for Shange.
The claim included the costs for loss of earnings, future eye operations, special school fees and general damages.
It has been a long legal battle for Shange, who won the right to sue the education department last year after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in his favour.
The department had argued that Shange had taken too long to file his claim, but the appeal court found that he could not be blamed for any delays.
Shange testified that he only realised the extent of his injury a year after the incident and he moved to Cape Town to get treatment for his eye and to live with his mother, who was working at a Cape Town hospital at the time.
He never went back to school because he could not get a place in a Cape Town school, and private schooling was “too expensive”.
Cape Town ophthalmologist Raoul Scholtz, who treated Shange, said he had a detached retina and his vision was limited to seeing hand movements, and was not likely to improve.
Judge Pillay found that Shange had been credible witness and that his detailed version of events had been corroborated by a former classmate. The judge was severely critical of the education department for proceeding with the trial with Biyela as their sole witness.
Biyela’s denial of the incident was not “convincing” and he could not explain why Shange would concoct an “elaborate, detailed lie”.
Shange’s lawyer, Elana Hannington, said he was elated with the outcome.
Education Department head Nkosinathi Sishi condemned all acts of violence committed by teachers against pupils.
He said he would have to study the judgment to determine whether to appeal the court’s ruling.
The Mercury