'Teachers pinch pupils to hide abuse'

Pinching pupils where marks will not be seen and verbally abusing them in violent tones are "sophisticated" methods of corporal punishment currently practised in some South African schools by teachers.

"It is applied where they think it is hidden. But such things cannot stay hidden for long. We are in the age of social networks. A child is smacked, a photo of the mark is taken immediately and posted online. We have seen clips. There is no place to hide," National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa president Basil Manuel said yesterday at the union's conference on school discipline.

Although corporal punishment is banned in South Africa, allegations against teachers who hit children continue to surface.

Yesterday the Gauteng department of education said it was investigating a claim that a teacher from Rebontsheng Primary School in Vosloorus hit a Grade 2 pupil with a ruler several times before throwing a hardcover book at her.

In March, a KwaZulu-Natal principal was suspended after he beat pupils with a plastic pipe because they arrived late at school.

"Corporal punishment is still far too common in our schools in KwaZulu-Natal. Much of what happens goes unreported. If that is the culture we have, then we are in trouble," Manuel said.

Durban Girls Secondary School head of department Dellarose Bassa said teachers were protected because principals "don't want to get a bad name" and their colleagues "don't want to rock the boat".

"These educators will say 'it's not my problem'. Those same educators will have a concert to talk about children's rights.

"They fail to realise the irony of not doing the right thing at the right time," she said.