WITBANK - A male teacher of Mabusabesala Secondary School in Veldevrede near Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga has been suspended for allegedly carrying a gun in his hand while invigilating grade 11 pupils during their examination, the provincial education department said on Friday.
Spokesperson Jasper Zwane said the incident occurred on June 4, while pupils were writing a tourism examination.
“The department views this incident in a serious light and has already instituted an investigation to understand the circumstances that led to this conduct,” said Zwane.
“The department will on Monday, 10 June, send officials to the school to offer counselling to the learners who may have been traumatised by this act. Given the nature of this incident, the school has been directed to open a case with the police. The department will monitor the developments at this school very closely.”
JUST IN: The Mpumalanga Department of Education has suspended a 26-year-old male teacher who invigilated a Grade 11 mid-year examination with a gun at
Mabusabesala Secondary School in Weltevrede on Monday pic.twitter.com/ynd4vzNQqx
— Sphelele (@SpheDludla) June 7, 2019
The incident was captured on a video and in the footage, the alleged teacher is walking in the middle of desks with a gun in his right hand, while the pupils sit at their desks.
Zwane described the incident as "isolated and intolerable" urging those involved in the "upbringing and moulding" of children to always ensure that they set high moral standards.
He said the pupils still wrote the exam despite the incident and added that the department did not know who recorded the video.
The 26-year-old teacher would face an internal disciplinary hearing when the investigation into the incident has been concluded, Zwane said.
Provincial police spokesman Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said he would comment as soon as he received information on whether a case has been opened.