Durban - A group of parents who have claimed that their primary school children were being abused by a teacher at a school in Umkomaas on the south coast, believe that the KZN Department of Education was protecting her.
Four parents whose children are between Grades 1 and 3 want the teacher suspended for physically and verbally abusing their children.
They said they have complained to the school’s principal and the department of education but nothing was done to hold the teacher accountable.The parents want the teacher suspended.
Last week, the aggrieved parents and members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) gathered at the school to protest against the teacher.
One of the parents alleged that the teacher had been abusing her six-year-old daughter who was in Grade 1 last year. She said the teacher allegedly slapped and used her finger to poke her daughter on her forehead. She said there were two different occasions when this was done. She said when the first incident happened in October, she wrote a letter to the teacher about the incident. And later found that it was not an isolated incident.
“The teacher did not respond to my letter. Two days later my child told me she was slapped during their lessons on that day and verbally abused as well. This time I went to the school to discuss this matter. I was told to speak to the deputy principal because the principal was not available. The teacher claimed that she only touched my child's face to get her attention,” she said.
The parent said the school did not take action against the teacher and she opened a case of assault at the Umkomaas Police Station. She said she was contacted by a prosecutor who told her to drop the charges because they ‘would not stand (up) in court’. She then reported the matter to the circuit manager at the department.
“He said he would look into the matter but months went by and there was no response. Last Saturday I received a phone call from Muzi Mhlambi from the Department of Education and he advised that I remove my child from the school and transfer her to one of three schools in the area,” she said.
“A better school in the area would cost me R23 000 in school fees and I cannot afford that. I was not happy with the other two schools that I was referred to because of their education system,” she said.
“Mr Mhlambi did not mention anything about the investigation into the teacher’s conduct. I cannot continue having my daughter in the same school (for) fear of victimisation. This also showed me that the department does not prioritise our children's safety. The same government, which is against corporal punishment,” said the mother.
The other parents who spoke to the Sunday Tribune recounted that their children had faced similar experiences with the teacher.
Mthobisi Shinga, the chairman of the EFF in Umkomaas said, “We want the teacher suspended and for the school to conduct an internal investigation. The department of education and SACE (South Africa Council of Educators) should also do their own investigation to assess if the teacher is fit to continue teaching and the legibility of the educator to teach in a multiracial school.”
Mahlambi, spokesperson for the department said: “We have dealt with the issue and the parent opted for something, (for) which we have no jurisdiction.”
SUNDAY TRIBUNE