Protect our teachers from pupils‚ says union

A principal at a secondary school in the Eastern Cape suffered a large gash on the forehead‚ above his left eye‚ after being attacked by a pupil.

This is the latest in a string of attacks on teachers in the Eastern Cape and action must be taken‚ the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) said in a statement on Friday.

“Our member continued to display commitment by remaining at the school despite this vicious attack by his learners‚ as he insisted that they continue with their studies on that fateful Friday night last week‚” the union said.

“Parents of the learners who are refusing to cooperate with the teachers at the school must assist (to alleviate) the situation.”

Sadtu in the Eastern Cape complained about a lack of discipline in classrooms and an apparent lack of disciplinary action being taken against pupils “who continue to assault and violate the rights of teachers in schools”.

“We view this in an extremely serious light‚ especially at this time of the year when the same learners are preparing for their final examinations. We cannot afford to experience such challenges considering all our efforts to improve our Grade 12 results. Such low levels of discipline portrayed by these learners‚ to the point of injuring our member‚ cannot be tolerated.

“We call upon the employer (government) to exercise enough vigilance in dealing with this matter so as to ensure that the situation at the school is monitored in pursuit of quality public education.

“We call on all powers that be in the province to intervene as a matter of extreme urgency‚” the union said.

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