R10 000 fine or 10 months jail for Springvale Primary School teacher who assaulted learner

Springvale Primary School teacher Annelise Boot, 54 during a court appearance. Picture: Goitsemang Tlhabye

Springvale Primary School teacher Annelise Boot, 54 during a court appearance. Picture: Goitsemang Tlhabye

Published Oct 15, 2021

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Pretoria - Partial relief is what the family of a 12-year-old Springvale Primary School learner have been left with after the teacher found guilty of assaulting their son was finally sentenced by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.

The court handed down a sentence of a R10 000 fine or 10 months of direct imprisonment, to Springvale Primary School teacher Annelise Boot, 54.

This follows her conviction of common assault by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court in April this year regarding the incident which took place in February 2020.

In its case against the teacher, the state indicated that Boot had acted violently during her confrontation of the learner intentionally assaulting him by throttling, kicking and pressing on his chest with her knee while pulling him upwards by his arms.

The altercation between the then grade 6 learner and the teacher was over the alleged theft of a bottle of sparkling water from another learner.

The magistrate agreed with the state and questioned the teacher’s actions or method of disciplining the learner, as Boot's defence attempted to argue that the teacher's actions were in a bid to protect the learner from harming himself.

Following the handing down of the sentence, the family of the learner said they were "partially relieved" that the court matter had finally been put to bed and finalised.

The uncle of the boy, who is not being named to protect the learner, said they were disappointed with how other education stakeholders did not treat the matter with any urgency or significance.

"The first thing he asked us after the court case was if she was going back to school but we couldn't even give him that assurance because there has been no feedback on the outcome of the disciplinary hearings by the department or independent bodies like the South African Council of Educators."

"Our biggest concern is the reprisal that he is going to battle with because even after the conviction some of the teachers were on the offensive towards him especially those who testified in the matter during court proceedings."

The uncle said they were hoping that other educational bodies intervened and actually did something about teachers with criminal records.

Pretoria News