Section27 corporal punishment case heads to Supreme Court of Appeal

Leave to appeal has been granted in the case of two pupils who were beaten by teachers in 2015 and 2019.

This as the punishment of teachers who use corporal punishment on pupils was up for debate in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, as Section27 faced off with the South African Council of Educators (SACE) once again.

Section27 is representing the Centre for Child Law (CCL) and the parents of two of the pupils.

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Corporal punishment

In August 2015, a teacher beat a 7-year-old with a PVC pipe, causing a head injury. The teacher then allegedly assaulted another pupil and left him with a bloody nose. The teacher also threatened both pupils not to report the matter.

In a separate incident, in February 2019, a teacher beat and slapped a 10-year-old pupil over the head, causing her ears to bleed.

The case was heard before the Johannesburg High Court in December 2020, where Section27’s case dealt with the “shockingly lenient sanction” imposed on the teachers, who pleaded guilty to assaulting the victims.

Section27 confirmed it would now file papers with the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

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‘Prospect of success’

The teachers were fined R15 000, of which R10 000 was suspended, and received another suspended sentence of having their names struck of the teachers’ roll for ten years.

“Their names would actually only be struck off the roll if they were to be found guilty of perpetrating corporal punishment or some other contravention of SACE’s Code of Ethics in future,” Section27 said in a statement.

“This means that despite their violent behaviour, both teachers are still in classrooms.”

In October, Judge Dawie Fourie dismissed relief sought to force SACE to review its decisions regarding the lenient sentences of the teachers in a judgement he handed down.

Fourie found the CCL and parents of the pupils were unreasonable in their delay to bring the case to court and dismissed Section27’s request for SACE to review the sentences.

In its leave to appeal the judgement on Tuesday, Section27 argued on behalf of the applicants that Fourie erred in his intepretation of “what constitutes an unreasonable delay when applying for a review”.

The leave to appeal found Fourie saying there was “a reasonable prospect of success… that another court may come to a different conclusino than I did.”

“As a result, both applications should be granted”, referring to Section27’s appeal, as wella as SACE’s cross-appeal application.

Although Fourie did grant relief to amend SACE’s mandatory sanctions previously, this part of the judgement was counter-appealed by SACE.

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‘Lenient’ sentences

SACE’s “lenient sanctions” meant it was failing in its role to maintain and protect the ethical and professional standards for educators, Section27 said.

“SACE has, historically, imposed very lenient and ineffective sentences on teachers found guilty of corporal punishment, without addressing teachers’ violent behaviour or equipping them with the strategies to implement nonviolent discipline in classrooms.

“For this reason, we are of the view that a court should order SACE to revisit the earlier sentences imposed on the two violent educators, so that a precedent is set that can assist in effectively enforcing the corporal punishment ban.”

“Advancing to the Supreme Court of Appeal is an important step towards better accountability for teachers who employ corporal punishment in classrooms,” Section27’s Faranaaz Veriava said.

Corporal punishment was abolished in South African schools in 1996, but cases continue to be reported across the country as a means of discipline. This includes physical and verbal abuse.

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Compiled by Nica Richards.