Africa-Press – South-Africa. The safety of teachers has been brought under the spotlight after a teacher was assaulted at a Northern Cape school over the weekend. Teachers’ unions are now calling for increased security at schools and interventions to promote teacher safety.
On Saturday, two Northern Cape pupils and parents allegedly assaulted a teacher, who was acting as referee during a rugby game at Hoërskool Daniëlskuil. Spectators and players of Hoërskool Daniëlskuil were reportedly unhappy with the referee’s handling of the match.
The school had since launched an internal investigation, said Hoërskool Daniëlskuil school governing body chairperson Jan-George van Straten, and the pupils were suspended. The school is also trying to identify the parents involved in the assault.
Police probing assault on referee during schools’ rugby match
South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) spokesperson Nomusa Cele said the incident highlighted the safety risks faced by teachers – especially since the incident took place on school grounds.
“We never want to see something like this happen. It shows that teachers are not safe,” she said.
Cele raised concern over the apparent lack of respect shown by parents and pupils towards teacher.
Cele said:
National Teaching Union acting president Sibusiso Malinga said the organisation condemned all acts of violence against teachers.
“Incidents such as this, at school or at sporting events, cannot be allowed. It’s the responsibility of schools and the education department to make workplaces safe,” he said.
However, Federation of School Governing Bodies (Fedsas) CEO Jaco Deacon said the Northern Cape assault must be viewed as an isolated incident, driven by “passionate supporters” of the sport.
While the assault was an exception rather than the norm, the school was correct to address the issue and take action against the pupils, he said.
Deacon added that the parents involved in the assault, once identified, could be barred from the school premises. He said many schools also enforced a code of conduct for parents and spectators at games, as a preventative measure.
“In the school community, there also needs to be an emphasis that sport is about child development and shouldn’t be taken so seriously,” he said.
Deacon stressed that schools needed to do more than focus on disciplinary processes. He suggested running programmes that celebrate diversity and instil a spirit of ubuntu.
“We need to move towards a value-driven system with universal values such as respect,” he said.
Cele has advocated for increased security at schools but said more work needed to be done with the wider community.
She said:
Cele also called for stricter rules at school sports matches and said schools or players should be suspended for bad behaviour.
“You don’t see this kind of thing at club and league matches because the club would be fined or suspended. The learners should not assume they have the right to play and should have to earn their place on the pitch. We need to suspend learners and schools from games if they engage in violence. It sounds tough, but it’s the only way to hold them accountable,” she said.
Malinga urged schools to hire “armed, trained security” to protect teachers, saying that other government facilities, such as clinics, were provided with similar security. He added that arrangements should also be made for police presence at sporting events, especially in areas where public sporting facilities are used.
Earlier this year, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi described schools as “sitting ducks” after Phomolong Secondary School deputy principal Thembisile Ngendane was shot dead while driving out of the school in Tembisa.
At the time, he said that more than 80% of the department’s budget went to teachers’ salaries, with almost all of the remainder allocated to infrastructure upgrades and maintenance. He said this left little funding for increased security at schools.
In February, News24 reported that a high school teacher was allegedly assaulted by a Grade 11 girl and her father at Setjhaba se Maketse Combined School in Botshabelo in the Free State. The child reportedly collapsed outside the teacher’s classroom earlier that day, and when the parents were called to the school, they allegedly confronted and attacked the teacher.
In April, a video of a teacher being jumped on and chocked during a classroom brawl at a Johannesburg school went viral. During the brawl, involving several pupils, a schoolboy at Hoërskool Jan de Klerk in Krugersdorp jumped on the back of a teacher and held him in a choke grip.
Pupil jumps on teacher’s back during chaotic classroom brawl in Johannesburg
At the time of publication, national Department of Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga was not able to provide the exact number of teachers who had been assaulted at schools.
He said the department’s hands were tied when it came to teacher safety.
“The relationship between a learner and a teacher is such that contact is mandatory. It therefore becomes impossible to prevent close interaction. The issue of violence by learners is directly linked to what they are taught or not taught at home, [their] values. Nobody knows what is in the mind of a learner. The only measures that are applied are those that apply once violence has happened,” said Mhlanga.
“Searching of learners is done, and dangerous items are confiscated, but in a context where somebody attacks you with [their] bare hands, the victims must open an assault case with the police.”
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