SANCTION FOR TEACHERS WHO VIOLATE RIGHTS

THE Department of Education says it is vindicated by the Sace verdict.

Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the fact that the teacher had pleaded guilty was an indication that she knew the wrongness of her actions, but had continued shaving the boy’s hair although teachers had been warned against doing so by the department.

The department issued a circular last year, warning teachers against violating the religious rights of pupils from the Nazareth Baptist Church.

“The sanction will serve as a warning to others. She ignored the warning, and she will now be forced to respect the policy or face the risk of losing her job,” he said.

Mahlambi warned that the department would not allow teachers to bring the department into disrepute through such cases by teachers who continued to impose punishment practices which violated the Constitution and human rights.

Nomarashiya Caluza, the provincial secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), said the sanction was too harsh.

Caluza said the R10 000 fine was too steep, considering that teachers were not paid well, but welcomed the fact that the amount would be paid in instalments.

She said although Sadtu recognised what the teacher had done was wrong, teachers expected pupils to be presentable in the classroom.

She said it was a challenge for teachers to know the religious practices of each and every child, saying that there were those who lied about their religion.

Mpiyakhe Mkholo, of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, said they welcomed the sanction as it confirmed what the commission had warned teachers about all along.

“We have always said that teachers who went beyond their mandate and, in the process, violated the Constitutional rights of children should be dealt with,” he said. | Sne Masuku