Phoenix mother opens assault case after teacher allegedly struck 16-year-old with wooden plank

A Phoenix mother has opened a police case after alleging that a teacher struck her 16-year-old daughter repeatedly with a wooden plank at Havenpark Secondary School, leaving the Grade 10 pupil with tissue damage.

Allegation and injuries

Krishnee Pillay told POST her daughter had been in severe pain for almost two weeks following the alleged incident. Pillay said the pupil was hit on her left arm and more than five times on the left side of her lower back while pupils were returning to class.

Pillay said her daughter returned home and showed her the injuries, telling her:

“Mummy, I won’t complain, but I am in too much pain”

Pillay said a doctor diagnosed her daughter with tissue damage that could take between eight and 10 weeks to heal. The teenager returned to school but continued to experience pain and was reliant on pain medication, Pillay said.

School response and meetings

The school governing body confirmed the matter was reported and referred to the circuit manager. SGB chairperson Lucy Govender told POST she informed the principal and that a meeting had taken place between the parties.

Govender emphasised the SGB position:

“The SGB of Havenpark Secondary does not support or condone any form of corporal punishment or any form of harm to pupils.”

Pillay said she first tried to raise the matter with the school, including a meeting arranged with the principal at which she alleged the teacher denied the allegations. Pillay said a pupil who she said had witnessed the incident also said they had not seen anything. She later returned with her daughter for another meeting, which she said the teacher again denied striking her child.

Police and wider reactions

Pillay said security was called during a confrontational meeting at the school and that she left to open a police case. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed an assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm case had been opened and said:

“It is reported that the victim was late to class and the suspect assaulted her with a plank.”

Vee Gani, chairperson of the KZN Parents Association, said physical force was not an acceptable method of disciplining a pupil and that when a teacher physically assaults a pupil the matter becomes a criminal issue. He said such allegations should be investigated fairly and thoroughly.

The matter has been referred to the circuit manager and the police investigation is ongoing. The Department of Education had not responded at the time of publication.