Monday 10 February

By: Samukelisiwe Msane 

It started off as any normal school day for *Lindiwe, a grade 11 learner, from an independent school in Orange Farm, South of Johannesburg. Lindiwe vividly recalls the events which led to her being suspended for a period of 3 weeks, after she refused to accept corporal punishment.  

On the day of her suspension, Lindiwe recounts, the class had been unruly and disrespectful towards their teacher, with some learners going so far as to throw chalk at her. “The teacher called in the school director and the culprits who pelted the teacher with chalk owned up,” said Lindiwe. Despite the culprits’ admission of guilt, the school director insisted on administering corporal punishment to the class and lashing learners with a PVC pipe.  

“When I saw the harsh lashings and the agony of my fellow classmates, I decided to assert my right not to be subjected to corporal punishment and refused it.” It was this assertion of her rights that resulted in Lindiwe being suspended from school. It was a penalty she could ill-afford as mid-year exams were approaching. Lindiwe’s mother’s repeated attempts to reason with the principal to allow her child back to school fell on deaf ears. The principal allegedly maintained that the only option for Lindiwe to return to school was if she accepted the punishment. Failing to resolve the incident, Lindiwe and her mother turned to Lawyers Against Abuse for assistance. A social worker from the organisation assisted them and referred the matter to the Gauteng Department of Education’s circuit and district offices, but to no avail. Lawyers Against Abuse then referred the matter to SECTION27. 

“The matter was brought to my attention on the 18th of April 2024. As standard procedure, I called the principal to hear his side of the story, but he blatantly denied that his school administers corporal punishment and shifted the blame for Lindiwe’s suspension to the Director,” said Thembi Mahlathi, SECTION27’s Advice Office Paralegal.  

SECTION27 drafted a letter to the school but there was no response. After a follow-up telephone call by the organisation’s Head of Education Rights, Zeenat Sujee, the school swiftly responded calling for Lindiwe’s return to school. “Yes! It was that simple. We did not have to go to court” exclaimed Thembi. 

Despite corporal punishment being unlawful in South Africa, it is still practiced in schools. incidents of physical abuse of learners by educators persist and are often under reported and inadequately addressed.  

Thembi’s excitement about the quick resolution of the case stems from SECTION27’s different experience in other similar cases. 

One such incident relates to a case in August 2015, when an educator assaulted two grade two learners with a PVC pipe. The effects of the punishment were severe. In one of the cases, the learner complained of headaches which became worse, with the child eventually being hospitalised for two weeks and having to undergo emergency surgery for a brain haemorrhage. In the other, the learner was hit across the face and bled from her ear.  

Following this incident, the parents sought assistance from SECTION27 to request an investigation of the teachers by the South African Council of Educators (SACE). SACE conducted a disciplinary hearing for the teachers, but the parents and children were not given the opportunity to participate. The sanctions imposed by SACE under their Mandatory Sanctions Policy were lenient given the severity of the educators’ actions. As a result, SECTION27 approached the High Court to request a revision of the sanctions, requesting SACE to include rehabilitative and corrective measures, such as anger management, to prioritize the best interests of the child. When the High Court declined to overturn the educators’ sanctions, SECTION27 appealed the decision at the SCA. 

In April 2024, SECTION27 took this case to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to address both the lenient sentences imposed in the particular case and the South African Council for Educators (SACE) mandatory sanctions policy in general.  

In her judgement, Acting Judge Tolmay illustrated the ripple effect of using corporeal punishment as a means of discipline in society: 

In a society besieged by violence this must be of grave concern, and it cannot be gainsaid that violence as a form of ensuring corrective behaviour should be addressed at its roots. In the process of creating an environment that is conducive to the protection and development of children as citizens who will not resort to violence as a solution to conflict. It is imperative that educators not only be prohibited to resort to physical violence as a form of discipline, but also be assisted to develop the necessary skills to discipline appropriately and with the required measure of personal control. It is by example that children are taught to navigate a complex conflict-ridden world, without resorting to violence as a solution.” 

The Court ordered SACE to re-consider the sanctions in this case and to consider appropriate rehabilitative sanctions to enable the educators to apply non-violent disciplinary measures in the future.  

In seeking the remedy it did, SECTION27 was successful in securing effective relief for the individuals involved as well as systemic change.  

As a measure to create awareness about corporal punishment, SECTION27, created a comprehensive manual to guide learners, parents, and educators in the reporting process.

*Not her real name.


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