Durban - The principal and a teacher of a Pietermaritzburg high school that was bombarded with bad publicity over initiation practices managed to stop their disciplinary inquiries on Monday.
A consent order was granted in the city’s high court, setting aside the charges against Voortrekker High School headmaster Jan Nel and the hostel supervisor, Anna Snyders.
The teachers had turned to the court after not being given information they requested to prepare for their cases.
Disciplinary action was taken against them by the Education Department following the findings of a task team it appointed to delve into the initiation processes, after it emerged that a former pupil had been physically and emotionally abused as part of the processes.
He also suffered a third-degree burn from a steam iron that went untreated for two weeks.
Beat up
Other allegations included that Grade 8 pupils were beaten up by Grade 12 pupils, had to run in the corridors naked, take off their clothes to be filmed and had to drink a mixture of warm water and vinegar before doing exercises.
The pupils had to beg for money and give it to the seniors. They were also burnt on their legs with a warm iron.
Court papers did not detail the charges the teachers faced. However, Snyders’s charge sheet was attached. She faced two counts of misconduct.
It was alleged that the initiation practices had been occurring at the school contrary to provisions of the regulations prohibiting them.
She allegedly failed to execute the responsibility imposed on her as a teacher and had endangered the lives of pupils.
The team’s report said the headmaster conceded that there were initiation practices new pupils were subjected to, which were normal and acceptable.
It said that the hostel supervisor suppressed knowledge of pupils being burnt with an iron, by telling the two victims that they should tell their parents they got it on the rugby field. She had failed in her duties to ensure that the victims of abuse received appropriate medical care, and failed to prevent the ill-treatment of pupils under her care.
The school lacked proper systems of control, monitoring and reporting mechanisms regarding the hostel.
Recommendations included that the perpetrators of the violence be counselled and that the school abolish all forms of initiation.
The order granted by the court stipulated that if the department were to restart the proceedings against the teachers, it had to prepare charge sheets according to the Employment of Educators’ Act.
Nel and Snyders must also be given enough time to request further particulars to prepare, and the department must ensure that an Afrikaans-to-English interpreter was available.
Meanwhile, an internal school governing body investigation took place at the school.
Twelve pupils were barred from participating in any extracurricular activities for the rest of the year and from attending their year-end functions.
The culprits had to write letters of apology to the Grade 8 pupils and to the school management. All of them had to undergo counselling.
The Mercury