LISTEN | Badly beaten pupil returns to school where she was whipped

A learner who underwent surgery after an alleged corporal punishment incident earlier this year has returned to the school where she was beaten despite her fears that she could be victimised again. The girl had to be hospitalised and underwent surgery on her left hand after allegedly being beaten with a length of hosepipe for failing to complete her homework. Nearly five months after the incident, she has not regained full use of her hand and continues to attend physiotherapy every two weeks.

The grade 9 pupil from Tembisa West Secondary School, whose case was first reported by Sowetan inApril, was set to betransferred to Thuto ke Maatla Secondary Schoolfollowing the March incident in which she sustained a serious hand injury. However, her mother says she was advised by education department district officials that her daughter should return to Tembisa West and that they would take responsibility for helping her catch up academically. “I accepted that because I had originally chosen Tembisa West, as it is close to home and suited my financial situation,” the mother said.

While the girl has been placed in a different class and is receiving academic support, her mother said she remains anxious about returning to the school. She fears she will always be known as the girl who was whipped and reported the teachers who assaulted her. “She still wants to move to another school because she fears she will always be known as the girl who was whipped and reported the teachers who assaulted her.” The educators allegedly involved in the incident admitted to misconduct during an internal disciplinary hearing last Wednesday, according to the girl’s mother.

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She said she was informed before the hearing resumed that the teachers had pleaded guilty. “I am happy my child will get some form of justice, but I am still waiting for written confirmation of the outcome and what happens next,” she said. A male teacher, 35, is expected to appear in the Tembisa magistrate’s court on August 28 on acharge of assaultwith intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He is out on bail of R500 following an arrest in April.

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