Teacher accused of learner abuse

THE distraught mother of a Grade 5 Mtubatuba pupil has obtained an interim protection order on behalf of her daughter, against her teacher.

The woman alleges verbal and emotional abuse towards her daughter (10) from her class teacher is what prompted the decision.

‘Little demon’, ‘ugly shorty’, ‘uncultured barbarian’ and ‘uncivilised’ - as well as racial slurs - are some of the phrases the teacher allegedly called the girl and her classmate.

The mother of the girl, neither of whom can be named to protect the child’s identity, said the hurtful words have been said to the girls since the start of the school year.

The child is reportedly undergoing counselling from social workers as a result.

The mother said, after her daughter reported the alleged abuse on several occasions, she attempted to contact the teacher so they could meet to discuss the allegations, but this did not materialise.

The child’s mother said she has reported the alleged abuse to the school principal, Mr A Meyer, and has escalated the matter to the Department of Education’s (DoE) circuit manager Sthandwa Ngcobo.

On Tuesday, Meyer told the ZO that he is not mandated to speak to the press, while Ngcobo said after the allegations were brought to his attention, he asked Meyer to institute an investigation.

“I wanted to take the matter further, but now there is the court process. I do not believe I am at liberty to divulge at this stage what the principal found as the court process is ongoing,” said Ngcobo, adding that once the application for a protection order has been deliberated and a verdict issued, he would continue to look into the allegations.

The mother and teacher are expected in court on

24 May for the protection order application, and the teacher has obtained a protection from harassment order against the child’s parents.

The mother said her husband has not been to the school to discuss these allegations, and neither of them has spoken face-to-face with the teacher.

“My child has lost her self-esteem because of this teacher,” said the distressed parent.The mother of the girl’s classmate said her child reported similar allegations.

“My child would cry and say I am not taking this issue seriously. She even wanted to change schools,” said this mother.