Assaulted pupil scared to go back to school

Boy left with gash after alleged teacher assault

A six-year-old boy in Alexandria, a small farming town in Eastern Cape, is petrified to return to school tomorrow after he was allegedly slapped by his teacher at the end of last term, leaving him with five stitches above his right eye.

The Grade 1 pupil was allegedly assaulted on June 13 by his 58-year-old teacher at Island View Farm School on Grootvlei Farm in Alexandria.

Eastern Cape police spokeswoman Captain Mali Govender said a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm was being investigated and the teacher was out on a warning.

She was due to appear again in court next month.

The child’s mother, Veronica Quvana, 27, said her son was “petrified” to return to school.

“He told me the teacher wrote a sentence on the board and the pupils had to copy it into their workbooks and fill in the missing words,” Quvana said.

“The teacher asked my son to bring his book to her desk and she [allegedly] told him that the words were incorrect and she got very angry.

“She then slapped him and he fell and hit his head on the desk and was left with a gash.

“He is petrified to go back to school and no one has contacted me since with regard to any investigation into the matter.”

Quvana reported the matter to Kouga DA councillor Diana Biggs, for whom Quvana works as a domestic worker.

Biggs reported the matter to the police and DA MPL Edmund van Vuuren.

Van Vuuren subsequently questioned education MEC Mandla Makupula regarding the number of physical and sexual abuse cases of pupils by teachers.

Makupula said they had received 18 cases since 2015, with eight teachers found guilty, resulting in two being dismissed.

Of the remaining 10 cases, four teachers resigned and six cases were unresolved.

Eastern Cape education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said their own probe was in the final stages.

“The department does not condone this behaviour, hence corporal punishment was abolished,” Mtima said.

The school’s management and the teacher could not be reached for comment.