Ringo slams teacher assault video

Veteran musician Ringo Madlingozi has been left fuming over a video that has gone viral on social media purporting to show two learners assaulting and kicking a teacher.

The 21-second clip shows a learner grabbing what is claimed to be a teacher by her hair while a second kicks her from behind. The learner in front then grabs the teacher around her neck and wrestles her to the ground while the other continues to kick. The teacher then fights back before the pupils overpower her again.

The exact circumstances around the video‚ when and where the assault happened‚ are unclear. 

Posting still images from the video, Ringo said the video was evidence of a society that thought violence was the only answer. 

"This is definitely the results of our society. Living in a world where violence is the only solution to all problems. We are the role models of our kids. This is not on, to have young kids beating up an adult, a teacher that only wants the best for them. This cannot be allowed that a woman teacher had to fight for her life, protecting herself from the very kids that she loves."

He suggested that drugs and thuggery were to blame for the rot, and said that parents had to be responsible for how they raised their children.

"Drugs, thuggery and downright stupidity could be triggers of this rot within our society. Each parent is responsible for the upbringing of their kids. We have to nip it in the bud as soon as they show this kind of disrespect."

Former Muvhango actor Lesley Musina suggested that the violence was the result of moral decay at home.

"The moral decay and the deterioration in family values and general lack of respect is appalling. We need to stand up against such disrespect. Parents, respect starts at home. This is a result of rampant domestic abuse and impunity that’s become the norm in our society," he wrote on social media this week.

Meanwhile, the South African Council for Educators (SACE) has also slammed the video, telling TimesLIVE that they were “appalled” by the incident.

“Whilst we condemn and act decisively in dealing with teachers involving themselves in such conduct‚ Council feels something drastic needs to be done in stopping learners from conducting themselves in such a manner‚” the council said in a statement.