Principal who 'slapped pupils for not doing assignment' resigns

A secondary-school principal caught on video allegedly slapping pupils across the face in class in Limpopo has resigned.

SowetanLIVE reported on Friday that the principal, teaching physical science to grade 12 pupils, had become angry when they failed to submit an assignment.

Some pupils at Bopedi Bapedi Secondary School told the publication that the principal was usually a “friendly person”, but could not “fold his hands when pupils are becoming lazy”.

Education MEC Polly Boshielo confirmed that the principal had resigned.

“Corporal punishment is a thing of the past and has been outlawed for years now. It cannot be tolerated,” Boshielo said on Thursday.

“A team of district officials has been dispatched to the school to start with the investigations that will establish the facts and determine the course of action to be taken,” department spokesperson Sam Mkondo told TimesLIVE earlier.

“The department views this video in a very serious light, given the fact that corporal punishment is outlawed in our schools.”