Teacher faces disciplinary action after pupils attack each other in classroom

A teacher from Hoërskool Stoffberg is set to face disciplinary action after a violent episode unfolded while she left her classroom unattended‚ the Gauteng department of education said.

A video of the incident has been circulating on social media. In it‚ one learner‚ seated in the front of the classroom‚ is seen pushing her chair back as she bolts towards another learner‚ seated a few rows away from her.

She shouts at her classmate‚ who is seemingly not dressed in school uniform and has her hand in a bandage. She reaches her classmate's table‚ stands before her and continues to shout and repeatedly push her.

The victim tries to grab onto her attacker's scarf but is pushed away‚ sending her chair and table into the air as she falls over.

The video get cuts off as the girl falls to the ground and starts crying‚ while her classmates watch on in shock. One person can be heard telling the alleged perpetrator to stop.

Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said they were concerned by the incident‚ which took place on Friday‚ May 11.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that there was an exchange of unpleasant words between learners at that school. It reveals that learners insulted one another‚ which led to one girl pushing the other away‚” said Mabona.

“The girl who was pushed asked the girl who pushed her not to do that again on which the other girl reacted by insulting her. She then reacted by approaching her and she pushed her twice against her chest and she fell backwards.”

Mabona said all the involved learners would be suspended for behavioural change and counselling would be offered.

“MEC Panyaza Lesufi has identified learner discipline as one of the priorities of the Department. The MEC wants cases such as school-based violence‚ gangsterism‚ drug abuse‚ cyber bullying and other related serious misdemeanours to be expedited‚ as well as ensure that the department is proactive in identifying preventative strategies to eliminate these social ills from the school environment‚” Mabona said.

He said school principals were empowered by the school safety policy to call police to conduct impromptu search and seizure operations to curb learner misconduct.