Parliament, Friday, 09 October 2020 – The Select Committee on Education and Technology, Sports, Arts and Culture, notes with concern the alleged scalding of six learners by a teacher at the Siyamukela High School in Madadeni, Newcastle.
Conflicting reports on the incident, in which the teacher allegedly poured boiling water over the learners, indicates that the learners either returned to class late, or were sleeping during class on Tuesday, 29 September. The committee strongly condemns any form of violence and stringent punishment against learners, irrespective of the reason behind.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Elleck Nchabeleng, said: “this is not a form of discipline, it is abuse. We will not allow teachers to take out their frustrations on our learners”. These type of punishment, he said, is a contravention of section 10 of the Schools Act, which prohibits corporal punishment at a school to a learner.
The committee welcomes the news that the South African Council for Educators (SACE) will be launching its own investigation into the matter. The committee calls on both the Kwazulu-Natal Education Department and SACE to fast-track their investigations.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, SPORT, ARTS AND CULTURE, MR ELLECK NCHABELENG.
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