Cape Town – A Grade 10 student from a school in the Northdale area in KwaZulu-Natal, is reported to have been traumatised after an incident involving alleged harassment, intimidation, threats, and assault by a school teacher.
The incident occurred on Monday when the student and his friends were reportedly waiting to be dismissed from an exam hall and became rowdy, unintentionally disrupting an ongoing exam, The Witness reported.
According to the father of the pupil, the teacher overseeing the exam approached the group of boys to ask them to be quiet, leading to a verbal exchange between the teacher and the students.
During this exchange, the teacher insulted the students’ mothers, which prompted the student in question to become upset and rowdy in defence of his mother’s honour.
Allegedly, the teacher physically assaulted the student, including grabbing him, throwing him on the ground, choking him, and dragging him outside the exam hall.
Investigation
The student, who is asthmatic, suffered two asthma attacks as a result of the incident.
The father of the student acknowledged his son’s behaviour but believed the teacher’s actions were excessive and inappropriate.
“I am not condoning my son’s behaviour but I understand why he behaved the way he did. He was just defending his mother’s image but he did not deserve to be treated the way he was treated,” the report quoted the father as saying.
The family has since opened a case of common assault, harassment, and intimidation against the teacher at the local police station.
The incident is under investigation, and the school is conducting an internal investigation as well. The student has not returned to school for over two days due to the trauma he experienced.
The Department of Education has not commented on the matter, and the teacher in question has reportedly not been present at the school since the incident, the report said.
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Source: AFP
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