Teachers who beat school kids will be punished‚ Zuma warns

Teachers found guilty of beating children in schools will be punished‚ President Jacob Zuma warned on Saturday.

Speaking at the National Teaching Awards Ceremony in Midrand‚ north of Johannesburg‚ he said there were social ills that must be rooted out from schools‚ one of which was corporal punishment..

He said it was shocking that‚ regardless of the outlawing of this “barbaric form of punishment” in schools‚ cases of learners being severely beaten by teachers were still being heard of.

Some learners had been reported to have lost their lives.

• Apology for 'Pupils prefer the pain'The Times apologises for wrongly, unfairly and misleadingly stating in its lead story ("Pupils prefer the pain") on January 11 that pupils see corporal punishment as part of a teacher’s role. 

“We condemn the beating of children in schools. It is unlawful and action will be taken against teachers who break the law and violate the dignity and personal safety of children‚” Zuma cautioned:

The problem of teenage pregnancies was also continuing‚ he said‚ indicating that “we are failing somewhere as parents and teachers‚ in guiding and teaching our youth”.

“We also still have serious cases of crime in our schools such as gang violence‚ drug use and alcohol abuse. We also have cases of bullying in some schools which have a negative impact on our children.

“We must not give up and must continue working together to eliminate these social ills and protect our children‚” Zuma added.