Mother wants to know how wheelchair bound son was injured at Pretoria school

The Pretoria School for Cerebral Palsied Learners has been accused of victimisation and neglect after a 12-year-old wheelchair bound boy sustained injuries there on Thursday.

Speaking to The Citizen, the boy’s mother Phemelo Nthathe said the school contacted her husband asking for permission to take their son to the nearest hospital.

“They took the child to Tshwane District Hospital for treatment. When we got there I could not recognise [my son], he was seriously hurt,” she sobbed.

The disabled 12-year-old received four stitches on his lip and broke his tooth.

“Till today we haven’t gotten any response about what happened to my child. The principal just said that they will do investigations and when I asked to see the CCTV footage, she said the Quantum [vehicle] was blocking the camera.”

Wheelchair bound boy ‘victimised’

Nthathe believes that her son is being “victimised” and neglected as the school was forced to enrol him. He also cannot speak for himself and give his version of events.

“I feel like my son is victimised, just because I forced that he attended that school. I fought for him. He was accepted just because I escalated the matter,” she said.

She said the the school in 2022 initially rejected her son because he wears nappies. Nthathe wrote to the Gauteng Department of Education to ensure her son could attend the school.

According to documents seen by The Citizen, the department ordered a meeting between the parents, school and officials, where it was agreed that the boy will attend the school in Pretoria.

The department has been notified of the incident.

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‘Not the first time,’ says mom

Nthathe also said this is not the first time her son sustained injuries at the school.

“This is not the first time my son gets hurt at school. He fell at school where he chipped his tooth, another incident he fell then the school said his wheel was not fastened,” the mom explained.

She added that in June her son always came home from school with wet pants.

“In the morning if he hasn’t peed, he normally urinates in the transport on the way to school. The school would not change his nappy and he would remain in wet pants all day,” she said.

According to Nthathe, the school claimed the child’s bladder is big and needs to be checked out.

“The doctor said that nothing is wrong with him, tests were run and came back negative.”

The Citizen contacted the school for comment three times and every time was told the principal was not available.

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