Dawnridge Primary teacher accused of physically, verbally abusing child
The child, who cannot be named, accompanied her parents to the Rising Sun offices where they made their plight heard.
The parents of a distraught eight-year-old child are calling for the immediate removal of a veteran teacher at Dawnridge Primary School after she allegedly assaulted the pupil with a chalkboard ruler while labelling the minor as a ‘rubbish’ and threatening to boot the child, on several occasions.
The child, who cannot be named, accompanied her parents to the Rising Sun offices where they made their plight heard.
“She hits me with the ruler and tells me bad things. While other pupils go out for sports, I sit in the class. She gave me my work to complete and because I did not know how to count in fours, she hit me and scolded me. She also called me a rubbish and said that I am a dumb child and that she would slap me and boot me,” explained the eight-year-old child.
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Her parents, Joeash Gengan and Letisha Gengan, of Welbedacht East, claim that initially, they did not know why their daughter was suffering from severe stomach pains and struggled with pains in various parts of her body until finally, after months, their child opened up and informed them of her ‘terrorising’ teacher.
“On Monday, she went to school. Before school, she had an accident and needed to change her clothes. I changed her and got her ready to go to class as she had an assessment. I told the teacher to allow my child to write her assessment and once her assessment was complete, to call me so I could pick her up. I never received any call. Instead, the teacher sent me a message, informing me that my child is perfectly fine. I went through my day as normal and picked her up at 1pm. When I fetched her, she said, ‘Mummy, why didn’t you pick me up from school? I’ve been suffering. Ma’am didn’t allow me to even use the toilet and I had a runny tummy’,” explained Letisha.
Mechanic by trade, Joeash, explained that when his children are in pain, he is in pain. He claimed that in his efforts to help his child, he poured out his earnings into countless tests just to figure out why his child is suffering, only to find out that it was at the hands of her teacher.
“Anxiety causes stomach pains and it has gotten to the point where she has been experiencing panic attacks every night. One night, we thought that we were going to lose our child. We took her to a doctor when these issues first began surfacing and we were told she is going through something at school. We did not believe it at first because she loves school, but the doctor was right,” said the disturbed father.
Gengan added that his firstborn loved her first two years of school when she had no interaction with the teacher in question but has now been refusing to attend school and is forced to write her examinations from home due to the trauma that she has endured.
“We want the teacher to be removed and arrested. We also call for a full judicial inquiry to be conducted. She shouldn’t be a teacher in any school. If you’re not good in your profession or you feel that you are incapable of doing it, don’t do it. Do not come to school if you are not going to do right by your pupils. We visited the hospital on many occasions because our child was in pain. We would also like a full reimbursement from the school for the cost of these tests as this teacher is responsible for my child’s pain. But this teacher does not care because she is retiring next year. In meetings with the principal, they suggested that they place my daughter in a different class, which is pointless because she is so traumatised by this teacher, that the only time my child will set foot back into that school is when the teacher is removed. We are planning on sending her to stay with my mother so she can get her mind off this because this is too much for her,” said the 32-year-old father.
As part of the South African Schools Act, in 1996, the use of corporal punishment was banned in schools, but despite this, many teachers still employ the use of corporal punishment to discipline pupils. Being a veteran teacher, it is expected of her to adapt to these changes to provide her pupils with a safe, positive environment conducive to effective learning.
Another parent, who asked to remain anonymous for the sake of her child’s safety, stated that her child was also experiencing similar issues with the same teacher.
“Upon sitting my child down and speaking to him, it was brought to my attention that the teacher was hitting my child regularly- from slaps, a hit with a ruler, a smack on the head and roughly pulling him by the hand. The teacher told my child that he is ‘carrying tales’ to get her into trouble and now my child goes to school in fear of what is going to happen in class each day,” said the mother.
The principal of Dawnridge Primary School, Dr J Naidoo, declined to comment on the matter, stating that he is not in a position to do so as the department is required to make statements on such matters.
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Numerous attempts were made to contact the KZN Department of Education spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi, however, this proved futile as the Rising Sun did not receive comment regarding the allegations.
Chatsworth police are currently investigating a case of abuse after the family opened up a charge at the station. The family has set a meeting with a child psychologist.
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