The mother of a 14-year-old pupil whose eye was stabbed at school last year has slammed the Free State Department of Education of turning a blind eye on her daughter’s ordeal.
The mother of the grade 7, Lerapo Primary School pupil, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, said the department has not bothered visit after the incident, which almost left her daughter blind, and demanded that they assist in paying for her daughter’s medical bill.
She said her daughter was going to class when she was unfortunately met by a scissor in the eye and the incident forced her to drop out of school before the year-end exams last year.
“I do not want to blame her classmate as that might have just been a mistake but what confuses me is how and why did teachers allow a hospital scissor to be used at school. Worst of all, the boy had only one part of a scissor which clearly serves as a weapon.
“Even though that happened in a place where we, as parents, feel that our children should be safe, the principal did not bother to visit the child and do follow-ups as she missed her year-end exams,” said her mother.
The mother said only the class teacher regularly visited them and offered a helping hand in the pupil’s medical bills while the department has been neglecting the situation.
Departmental spokesperson Howard Ndaba said they were not ignoring the situation but had no control as the matter is still considered an accident.
“That learner was not stabbed on purpose and we had an agreement with the mother at the time we all heard about this. The department, therefore, cannot do much because that was not a fight, a mere mistake.
“I believe that there are people who are pushing the mother to put pressure on us because a lot was done last year and this includes teachers from Lerapo Primary School using money from their own pockets to see that the learner receives medical attention but if she insists, our seniors will have to look into the matter,” said Ndaba.
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This story has been updated, with the learner’s details removed as per Editorial Guidelines and Principles for Reporting on Children in the Media
