“Corporal punishment cannot be tolerated” – Education MEC on viral video
Meanwhile, the DA in Limpopo are calling for the educator to be criminally charged
POLOKWANE – The MEC for Education in Limpopo, Polly Boshielo, says the viral video of an educator slapping learners shocked and disturbed her.
On Wednesday, Review reported on a video depicting a male educator at Bopedi Bapedi Secondary in the Sekhukhune south district, hitting both male and female learners while learners can be heard laughing in the background.
Read more: Video of Limpopo teacher hitting learners goes viral
Expressing her shock and dismay, Boshielo said it is unacceptable to openly break the law in that fashion. “Corporal punishment is a thing of the past and has been outlawed for years now. It cannot be tolerated wherever it happens in our schools.”
The reason for the incident is still unknown.
Meanwhile, DA Limpopo’s Spokesperson on Education and provincial leader, Jacques Smalle, says he will be writing to Boshielo calling on her to ensure that there are adequate vetting mechanisms in place that teachers who may have been convicted of any misconduct, cannot teach in the province or easily move to a different province and continue teaching there.
In a statement, Smalle says despite the principal resigning, the DA believes he should be criminally charged for his actions.
“Teachers are not allowed to disregard the law with regard to corporal punishment and may never use it as a form of discipline. The educator grossly undermined the learners’ dignity. The other learners in the class could be heard in the video laughing at the learners who were being slapped,” his statement read.
He added that while the DA acknowledges Boshielo’s speedy intervention in the matter, the department should provide counselling services for the learners as “the humiliation of the incident may affect their academic performance in the long run.”
