‘Pie day’ video sparks protest at Western Cape school

A video circulating online shows a classroom at Thembalethu Primary School where several Grade One learners appear to be eating pies and drinking juice while one learner sits with his face covered by his hand, seemingly without food. The video, reportedly recorded by the class teacher and later shared with a parents’ WhatsApp group, has drawn widespread criticism from the public, with many accusing the teacher of humiliating the child. The controversy erupted just days before Pi Day on Saturday, a day usually associated with celebrating the mathematical constant , but which has ironically been overshadowed locally by a debate about dignity and compassion in the classroom.

In the video, the teacher addresses the parents on the group while speaking to the learners in the classroom. “We don’t speak while we eat; we eat,” she tells them. “Here they are, parents, they are eating,” she said She then instructs one of the learners to turn to the front at her desk, open her pie and start eating.

“Here is the pain, parents. All the kids in class are eating, but one. All the school supplies I bought [and] today I paid for a child that a parent did not pay for,” she added.

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A source familiar with the teacher’s relationship with the parents claims there was more to the situation than appears in the video. “A lot took place before this video was made, and the video was edited by whoever sent it to Facebook. The video was only meant for the class parents, not for the public,” the source said, adding that it was not intended to cause harm. “The teacher had bought the learner’s school uniform and school supplies earlier this year because he did not have any.She had done this to address the parents of learners in her class because the said learners’ parents had not showed up for meetings with her following written requests from her to come see her,” said the source.

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