Teachers 'intimidated' by kids

2008-03-12 10:33

Welkom - Free State police will investigate the assault of a Free State teacher, allegedly by a grade eight pupil at the Welkom High School.

Captain Stephen Thakeng confirmed on Wednesday that Chantel Harvey, 27, had opened a case of assault against a pupil on Tuesday night.

Harvey apparently reprimanded the boy because he wouldn't sit down at his desk on Tuesday morning. The boy kept back chatting and she threw a small clock that had been standing on his desk on the floor.

The boy then allegedly shoved her and punched her in the face when she tried to push him away.

Civil rights initiative AfriForum, supporting Harvey, condemned the assault in the strongest possible terms.

Nantes Kelder, head of community safety at AfriForum, hoped that immediate action would be taken against the pupil.

"A clear message has to be sent that criminality of this nature will not be tolerated in schools."

Kelder said this was not an isolated case but the third such incident where a teacher had been assaulted by a child in that school.

"The other cases were not reported out of fear for victimisation," said Kelder.

School principal Paul Sauer told a local newspaper that disciplinary procedures were being followed and that the incident had been reported to the department of education.

- SAPA