School smack shock
|Published
EXPOSED: Pupil hit girl in the classroom EXPOSED: Pupil hit girl in the classroom
A high school pupil from Worcester has been suspended after he was recorded klapping a girl in class.
A video that circulated on social media this week shows the teen slapping his classmate in the face.
The pupil is then seen walking back to his desk, while some classmates look shocked and others laugh.
It is not clear if a teacher was present in the class at Zwelethemba Secondary School.
People on Twitter tagged Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, asking her to investigate the circumstances leading up to the shocking incident.
Schäfer tweeted on Wednesday: “The offender has been suspended for five days. There is more to the story, but this behaviour is still unacceptable. I cannot discuss the details in a public forum.”
Department spokesperson, Bronagh Hammond, said the incident occurred after a male pupil accidentally stepped on a girl’s foot, reports the Cape Argus.
WARNING: Bronagh
The girl apparently moered the boy after class and he retaliated in their next class.
“When entering the class, he apologised and class resumed as per normal. After class, the female pupil allegedly assaulted the male pupil,” says Hammond.
“The male pupil retaliated in class. The pupil has been suspended and a final warning was issued to both pupils for their behaviour.”
Hammond said the school had interacted with the parents of the pupils and supported them both as they prepared for end-of-term tests.
Condemning the behaviour, she added: “Pupils need to respect each other and deal with conflict through other means, such as peaceful
engagement.”