COSAS STATEMENT ON DEATH OF LEARNER

The Congress of South African Students has learned with sadness coupled with anger of the passing of a Grade 10 student in Palm Springs. The learner was attending school at Thabarabollo Secondary School (see The Star's report).

The student passed on after a teacher used corporal punishment to reprimand the learners who were allegedly talking in class.

The Congress of South African Students has always voiced out its clear opposition to the continued use of corporal punishment in schools, besides the fact that corporal punishment was banned and is clearly enshrined in the South African Schools Act as an offense if carried out in schools; corporal punishment does not bare the required results. Violence as a form of punishment or way of instilling discipline in learners has never been effective but rather worsens the situation as learners are socialized into thinking that in order to resolve matters violence must be utilized.

Our anger as an organization cannot be measured. After all the debates, the education on use of corporal punishment and the principles of SACE there are still teachers who continue to arrogantly corporally punish learners. A soul has been lost because of the continued ignorance and arrogance of some teachers; nothing will bring back the child which has been lost, not even the years that the teacher will stay in prison as we are going to see to it that the teacher does time in prison, a crime was committed here and the full might of the law must take its course.

We are aware that a case was reported to the police and the teacher arrested but we are not satisfied that the teacher has been released on warning pending investigations. We are also not satisfied with the response of the Department of  Basic Education to simply move the particular teacher to another district, we should be at least speaking of a suspension pending investigation because all proof is there that the crime was committed all they are awaiting is the severity of the consequences of the crime.

We call on parents, learners and the entire community to unite against corporal punishment in schools, parents must report teachers who beat their children to the police. Cases of assault and bodily harm must be opened, people must get arrested and their certificates of profession retracted and made invalid.

We encourage again all stake holders in education to always speak and act strongly against corporal punishment because it is a crime and the effects of it are vile. We further call on the department of education and trade unions to continue educating about it, also educating on other alternatives of instilling discipline on learners in ways that are legal, corrective and rehabilitating.

Statement issued by Congress of South African Students President General, Collen Malatji, April 2 2014

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