A school governing body-appointed teacher assistant has been sacked after being found guilty for administering corporal punishment on a Grade 5 pupil.
The incident is said to have occurred recently at AWB Barnes Primary School in East London.
The Eastern Cape department of education confirmed the matter. It said the offender gave details of the incident to the investigative team. She said that she was supervising the class in the absence of the teacher. During this time, the pupil got unruly and made certain hand gestures.
All processes followed before the sacking
Malibongwe Mtima, the department’s spokesperson, stated that all formalities were followed before the teacher was sent packing.
“The teacher assistant was placed on precautionary suspension while investigation was underway. A disciplinary process was then started, leading to her admitting having administered corporal punishment. The perpetrator was then [relieved] of her duties at the school,” said Mtima.
Mtima explained that throughout the investigation, the department discovered claims of bullying that occurred when the pupil was in Grade 3. A team has been formed to look into new charges of bullying against the pupil.
“The psychosocial support has been activated to provide support to the learner and the parent. This… with a view to determining the extent of the trauma. [We will consider] the possibility of alternative placement in another school should the outcomes necessitate it.”
Victim’s parent cautioned against inflammatory social media posts
The victim’s parent allegedly used social media to make racist remarks against the SGB and school administrators.
Education MEC Fundile Gade said the allegations of racism and utterances against the school SGB and officials by the parent on social media are regretted.
“We have referred the child for support programmes based on the school report. We call upon the parent of the learner to desist from the uncorroborated claims of racism on social media. They could have a negative impact and run the risk of her being litigated if she continues with them and is found to be untrue.
“Such utterances are against the spirit of nation building. We regard all our schools as the best ground to develop responsible citizens who celebrate their diversity. [Citizens who] also respect one another, the rainbow nation,” urged Gade.
In April, an identical occurrence took place in the province, when a teacher hit a pupil until their hand swelled.
