Durban - The South African Council of Educators (Sace) is investigating a Durban high school principal for allegedly assaulting a teacher.
The two are based at a pre-vocational school.
The school was in the news recently after a video of a pupil being stabbed with a pair of scissors, by another pupil in class, emerged on social media.
The circumstances of the alleged assault on the teacher were unclear, and attempts to reach the school on Monday were unsuccessful.
But sources close to the school said it was in a state of crisis.
They alleged that corporal punishment was still used, and several parents had complained that their children had come home with injuries.
They spoke of an environment of fear.
Sace communications manager, Thembinkosi Ndhlovu, said the council had visited the school to conduct their investigation.
“The allegations were that the principal assaulted an educator. The educator is not at school as he has been booked off by a psychologist,” he said.
He said the leave form showed that the teacher would be away from work for 29 days, and that leave may be extended.
“The department can only provide for a substitute if the employee’s absence is more than 29 days,” he said.
“We have advised the educator to engage with his doctor on the above matter so as to have the department appoint a substitute.”
DA MPL and Education spokesperson, Dr Rishigen Viranna, said he had asked for the Education portfolio committee to conduct an oversight visit at the school.
“There are damaging allegations about the school. It is important to remember that this is a pre-vocational school, it accommodates learners who have minor disabilities that prevent them from coping at a normal school,” he said.
Communication between a parent and Viranna, which has been seen by The Mercury, alleges rampant emotional and physical abuse of both pupils and teachers at the school.
The parent alleged that pupils were interrogated by the school principal about who had uploaded the video of the stabbing incident on social media without parents being present.
Department of Education spokesperson, Scelo Khuzwayo, said they were not aware of Sace’s visit to the school.
“The incident is fairly new so we will await their report. However, we would like to state that we are against corporal punishment as it is banned, and anyone found using it will face the full might of the law.
“We also urge the public to report these matters to the department so we can investigate them,” he said.