Durban - Teachers at Zwelibanzi High School in uMlazi J-Section don’t believe in sparing the rod.
Pupils claim that if they are late for morning classes – that begin at 6.30 am – they must remain outside the school yard until 8 or 8:30 am.
Once they are let inside, they are beaten with plastic pipes, four pupils in different grades who asked not to be named, told the Daily News.
KwaZulu-Natal Education department spokesman Muzi Mahlambi said the allegations would be investigated and action taken.
“We do take action when we get reports. A teacher who caused the hospitalisation of a learner in the same school was suspended and he lost a salary for a couple of months. If the teachers continue to mete out corporal punishment, then they do it behind our backs. We can assure our communities that we do our best to protect children from harm,” said Mahlambi.
Principal Sibusiso Maseko did not deny nor confirm the allegations.
Instead, he invited the Daily News for an interview, but later cancelled the appointment, referring all enquiries to the education department.
Outside the school this week pupils and parents had strong views on the issue.
One schoolgirl felt there was nothing wrong with the beatings.
“I think some learners deserve the punishment to keep deviants on the straight and narrow. I don’t have a problem with being punished because some of us tend to behave irrationally, because we know we won’t get punished. To avoid caning, learners should work on their behaviours and attitudes,” she said.
Others, however, viewed the corporal punishment as abuse.
“We are locked outside the gate for more than an hour when we arrive late for morning classes. That is punishment enough, so why beat us up with pipes? Being late for class is not right, misbehaving is not right and disrespecting others in school is not right. But we are all humans.
“We make mistakes and we deserve to be groomed into being better people. Corporal punishment was abolished, so teachers should find alternative and constructive ways to punish transgressors. Here, we know if you are viewed to have stepped out of line, you are in for a beating. I don’t call this disciplining learners, it is beating. That’s what we are going through daily,” she said.
A livid parent said he had experienced firsthand the treatment meted out by teachers.
“I transport children to the school in the mornings and pick some of them up after school. I’ve witnessed teachers locking the children out in the morning for being late. I have also witnessed them being beaten with pipes once they are let inside, after spending more than an hour outside the school gates. I monitored this because my child goes to the same school, and when she complained, I didn’t want to take her word for it. I wanted to have proof,” said the parent, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the pupil.
He said the corporal punishment had been going on for some time. The matter was raised in numerous meetings at the school
“This should stop because government doesn’t allow this (corporal punishment),” said the angry parent.
He blamed the department and government for not providing alternative forms of disciplining deviant pupils when corporal punishment was abolished.
“If you discipline a child, do it in a manner that will make the child understand his or her mistake,” he said.
Provincial secretary of the Congress of South African Students, Mhlengi Mabuya, said they were aware of the abuse.
He said the prevalence of bullying, lawlessness and drugs in schools was caused by the “abuse” meted out by teachers.
Officials turning a blind eye
Annette Lovemore, DA spokesperson for Basic Education, said there were guidelines for dealing with teachers accused of misconduct, but officials were turning a blind eye to the use of corporal punishment in schools.
“In February we received parliamentary response to questions regarding the issue. The response was shocking in that the number of offences committed on learners at primary and secondary schools was high, but there was no clear indication about what action was taken against the transgressors,” said Lovemore.
She said the SA Council for Educators, as the custodian of the code of ethics for educators, should be furnished with records in each case where steps were taken against any teacher.
According to the parliamentary reply, 525 complaints of misconduct were filed against educators nationally from April last year to February this year. Of these complaints, 244 were for corporal punishment.
KZN had 92 cases, which included corporal punishment and assault.
Between April 2013 and March last year, there were 78 cases filed against the province.
“We encourage parents and guardians to report cases of abuse in schools. They can report directly to the Council for Educators if they fear victimisation at schools. If this is done, the offending educators can be fired and their names can be removed from the educators’ register if they are found guilty of a breach of the code of professional ethics, there is no question about it,” she said.
The Statistics SA General Household Survey of 2012 found that corporal punishment was on the rise in KZN and the Eastern Cape.
The study revealed that 2.2 million pupils had been subjected to the practice, although it was abolished 19 years ago.
The SABC reported in May last year that the SA Human Rights Commission was concerned that there were still schools that administered corporal punishment.
At the time, the commission chairman, advocate Lawrence Mushwana, was reported as saying that corporal punishment was psychologically damaging to children and increased the risk of them dropping out of school.
Daily News