An investigation is currently being conducted following allegations that a teacher in Cape Town punished a number of pupils in her class for not having their R2 for casual day by locking them up.
The incident occurred last week at Abedare Primary in Delft. The several grade 1 students were confined to their classroom by their teacher because they did not have the money required for wearing their casual clothes at school. Other pupils were allowed to leave and attend activities in the school hall while the confined learners remained locked up.
Spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Bronangh Hammond said the department is looking into the allegation.
“The WCED received a tweet regarding the incident and a request for a follow-up was made. The allegations are concerning. The alert happened over the weekend, therefore the WCED will investigate [on Monday],” Hammond told TimesLIVE.
A Twitter user who calls themself ‘Mandy’ detailed the incident in a series of tweets to the Western Cape Education Department.
She also mentioned a separate incident where the same teacher allegedly beat a 7-year-old pupil’s hand to the extent that it became swollen and had to be bandaged.
‘Mandy’ spoke out regarding the incidents as she claims parents are afraid to report the teacher because she ignores students in her class after she is reprimanded regarding incidents involving them.
“My cousin and her friends have since imitated her actions by being incredibly aggressive, cursing and using the same language she does ever since they’ve started school.
“A kid in our street was crying the other day because she didn’t want to go to school,” said the Twitter user.
This incident comes shortly after one in which a Sans Souci teacher slapped a student in her class, which was also reported via Twitter.
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