HRC: Pupils abusing teachers

2008-03-12 15:25

Johannesburg - Teachers in South Africa schools left the profession because of psychological violence and physical assault by pupils, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said in a report on Wednesday.

During public hearings, the commission was told by teacher unions that teachers were sworn at, physically attacked by pupils and subjected to bullying and taunting.

"Swearing has become the home language to many learners... This affects the morale of educators, making then very despondent. Some educators are pushed to the limit through sheer frustration and retaliate by screaming and shouting," a teacher union told the commission during public hearings.

Another union attached a letter sent to a teacher by a pupil to their submission.

The letter read: "You don't know how sick you make me, you make me f..... (sic) sick to my stomach Everytime I think of you I puke....".

The union said one of the reasons it believed teachers had become victims of violence in the classroom was a lack of discipline maintained in the home.

It also felt there was too much emphasis on the rights of the pupil "as opposed to their reciprocal responsibilities toward each other".

A teacher in Gauteng told the commission how a pupil physically attacked him with a table and chair.

Sex for good grades

Sexual assault of pupils by teachers also emerged during the public hearings.

"An area of serious concern... was that of an educator accused of sexual assault or rape who remained teaching the alleged victim pending disciplinary measures taken..." the report said.

Concerns were also raised about sexual offences by teachers failing to be reported. It also emerged that young girls had sex with their teachers in return for receiving good grades.

"We have lost respect for our teachers as they abuse us in so many ways that we occasionally retaliate. The teachers are not there as parental figures we are meant to learn from, but rather they are people who are there to misguide us," one pupil told the commission.

A study presented to the commission by the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme found that 26% of pupils felt that forced sexual intercourse did not necessarily constitute rape.

"This finding raises pertinent questions as to what in the perception of a girls constitutes 'sexual assault'. Consequently the accuracy of statistics that relate to sexual assault incidents can also be questioned," the report said.

- SAPA