Justice for 4-year-old Meadowlands pre-scholar
"The teacher tried to persuade me to resolve the issue without involving the school principal.”
Buhle Nkosi (4) used to be a lively and active child until allegations surfaced that a teacher at Rishile Primary School in Meadowlands, Zone Four, physically attacked her.
Her family noticed there was something wrong with Buhle when she did not do her daily after-school activities and, instead went straight to bed on May 24 this year.
Her behaviour alarmed her mother Sanele, who asked the pre-schooler what the problem was. According to her mother, the infant told her that she was hit with a black plastic pipe during class, purportedly by her class teacher.
Following the alleged assault, Sanele noticed a few changes in her daughter’s behaviour. She said that the child experienced frequent nightmares, refused to eat, sleep-talked and was reluctant to go to school. This prompted the concerned mother to start inquiries at the school.
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The Grade R parent said that when they arrived at the school, the teacher denied the accusations levelled against her.
Sanele said, “The teacher tried to persuade me to resolve the issue without involving the school principal.”
She relayed the teacher’s suggestion to her father who advised her to speak to the principal directly. Following this meeting with the principal, the matter was escalated to the district, and it was decided that the matter required further intervention.
Buhle was taken to the clinic for a check-up and Sanele said that the service received at the Dobsonville Clinic was, in her father’s words, ‘a fruitless exercise’. The senior Nkosi said, “The nurse there did nothing but give us a letter that shows that we visited the clinic.”
The family has since lodged a case against the teacher at the Meadowlands Police Station and the officer who was assisting them recommended that the child be taken for a check-up at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital where Buhle was diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress. She has been attending therapy sessions at the hospital after this diagnosis.
As a result of the trauma she suffered, the child has been moved to a different class and her grandfather commended the principal for her willingness to help throughout this ordeal.
Nkosi is resolute that he would not let matters stand where they were and insisted that the only outcome would be that the teacher leave the school and be stripped of her qualification as an educator.
The case has caused the family some grief – Sanele’s parenting is being questioned and judged by neighbours who believe that the teacher was not at fault. The family and principal were also intimidated by protesting residents who staged a demonstration at the school on May 31.
With the assistance the family has been receiving from the school and the district, they hope that they can get justice for Buhle and all the other children who may have been assaulted by the teacher and were too afraid to speak out.
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