Update 15 May: Toekomsrus Primary School principal Noleen Henney, when asked for an update on allegations of abuse leveled against one of their teachers, refused to comment further, referring to the herald to the Gauteng West District Education Department before slamming the phone in herald journalist Mbali Mathebula’s ear.
Mathebula, who was tasked with getting a photograph of the school, preferably with the principal in it tried in vain to call back, as Henney kept ending the calls without answering.
Questions have been sent to the Education Department but no response has been forthcoming thus far.
14 May: Toekomsrus Primary School has come under fire over the alleged abuse of pupils at the school.
This after reports emerged that one of its teachers allegedly employed pinching as a way to discipline children in her class.
The teacher is also said to have pricked children with needles, ofter pricking more than one child with the same needle.
The allegations of abuse was brought to the attention of the herald by a parent who found out about the abuse after noticing bruises on her Grade 4 child.
“I know for a fact that the principle is aware of this because other parents have reported it as well,” says the woman.
“I cannot believe that it takes so much effort to force the school to act on allegations of abuse.”
According to the parent the abuse has been going on for some time and the school has been refusing to deal with complaints from parents in this regard.
“I went to the school this morning on Tuesday to try to talk to the principal and but the security guards wouldn’t let me in the premises.”
The teacher in question is known to the herald and the matter has since been reported to the Department of Education.
Meanwhile, according to the school’s principal Noeleen Henney, the case is currently under investigation.
“We received the complaint and we are currently dealing with it.
“The teacher only admitted to pinching the pupil and not to pricking her with a needle.”
Henning says that due to past allegations of corporal punishment, the school has had CCTV cameras installed in classrooms.
“We will survey the camera footage to try and establish if the allegations are true, and we will act accordingly.”
The herald is in possession of images of the injuries allegedly incurred by one of the children at the hands of the teacher.
