The mother of a 13-year-old pupil who was allegedly strip-searched by a teacher at the Boskop Primary School insisted the school was treating the matter lightly.
The mother, Michelle Haripersad said that the school wanted to hide the matter from the parents. She said since the incident occurred on 16 September, the school has not communicated with her about the progress of the disciplinary hearing.
“The way the school is reacting is inappropriate – if it were my child, they would have suspended him,” she said. Haripersad further claimed that she requested a meeting with the accused teacher, the School Governing Body (SGB) and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), but to no avail.
Roodepoort Northsider is in possession of the minutes taken during the initial meeting on 19 September between the school, the accused teacher and the mother.
The teacher was accused of taking the child to the school bathroom and asking him to strip off his clothes. This occurred after the child was suspected of taking the teacher’s cellphone.
“The teacher changed his story and insisted that he did not ask the child to take off his clothes, instead the child was willing to take off his clothes to prove his innocence,” said Haripersad.
According to the meeting’s minutes, the teacher said that he only asked the child to empty his pockets and to pull up his pants so that he could see if the child did not have a cellphone in his pockets. Haripersad asked why the teacher took the child to the bathroom as it could have been done in the office.
The GDE confirmed the incident. “The department is aware of the matter and is extremely disappointed by the alleged conduct of the educator,” said acting spokesperson Oupa Bodibe. He said educators should, at all times, lead by example to ensure that pupils mirror their conduct and create a safe school environment which is conducive to effective teaching and learning.
“The school has conducted an internal disciplinary hearing, followed by the educator receiving a written warning for his conduct. The educator apologised profusely to the pupil and the parents. It is on that note that the department has decided not to press charges against the educator,” said Bodibe.
He concluded that department strongly condemns any acts of misconduct which seek to undermine the dignity of both pupils and educators.
Haripersad responded and said that she was more outraged with the response from the GDE. “Yes, he apologised but I have not accepted his apologies – if my child had his cellphone in his possession, would he have understood if I merely apologised, certainly not,” she said.
Details: Gauteng Department of Education 011 355 0901.
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