The Mpumalanga MEC for education was ordered yesterday to compensate the mother of a child who lost her hearing in one ear when another pupil used a megaphone close to her ear.
Judith Broodryk turned to the Pretoria High Court, claiming that the MEC, Reginah Mhaule, should be held liable, because her daughter, then 13, was in the care of teachers at Oranjegloed Primary School, Secunda, when the incident happened in February 2005.
Deputy Judge President Willem van der Merwe ordered that Mhaule pay Broodryk R750000 in damages.
Broodryk, 49, claimed that her daughter was at school when a fellow pupil was given permission to use a megaphone.
She said the incident was caused by the negligence of teachers because they failed to exercise sufficient control over the use of the megaphone.
She said Judy, now 19, had permanent hearing impairment.
She underwent medical treatment and will continue to do so.
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