LISTEN | Badly beaten pupil returns to school where she was whipped

A learner who underwent surgery after an alleged corporal punishment incident earlier this year has returned to the school where she was beaten despite her fears that she could be victimised again.

The girl had to be hospitalised and underwent surgery on her left hand after allegedly being beaten with a length of hosepipe for failing to complete her homework.

Nearly five months after the incident, she has not regained full use of her hand and continues to attend physiotherapy every two weeks.

The grade 9 pupil from Tembisa West Secondary School, whose case was first reported by Sowetan in April, was set to be transferred to Thuto ke Maatla Secondary School following the March incident in which she sustained a serious hand injury.

However, her mother says she was advised by education department district officials that her daughter should return to Tembisa West and that they would take responsibility for helping her catch up academically.

“I accepted that because I had originally chosen Tembisa West, as it is close to home and suited my financial situation,” the mother said.

While the girl has been placed in a different class and is receiving academic support, her mother said she remains anxious about returning to the school.

She fears she will always be known as the girl who was whipped and reported the teachers who assaulted her.

“She still wants to move to another school because she fears she will always be known as the girl who was whipped and reported the teachers who assaulted her.”

The educators allegedly involved in the incident admitted to misconduct during an internal disciplinary hearing last Wednesday, according to the girl’s mother. She said she was informed before the hearing resumed that the teachers had pleaded guilty.

“I am happy my child will get some form of justice, but I am still waiting for written confirmation of the outcome and what happens next,” she said.

A male teacher, 35, is expected to appear in the Tembisa magistrate’s court on August 28 on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He is out on bail of R500 following an arrest in April.

Onwabile Lubhelwana, spokesperson for education MEC Lebogang Maile, said the girl’s mother raised concerns that her child could face victimisation from the teacher accused of beating her and other staff members for reporting the incident.

He said the mother was assured that measures were in place to ensure her daughter’s safety.

The circuit manager had also engaged the school principal, who had no objection to the girl returning and was concerned that she was missing out on learning, he said.

Lubhelwana said the circuit manager later checked with the principal and was told that the learner had been “well received by all her teachers” and was being supported “on learning recovery programmes to cover for the work she missed out on during her hospitalisation”.

He confirmed that the teachers implicated in the alleged assault pleaded guilty in the school’s disciplinary hearing and that aggravating factors would be submitted before the process finishes.

Maile recently revealed that 15 cases of alleged corporal punishment were referred to the department’s special investigations directorate between 2023 and 2026.

DA Gauteng shadow MEC for education Sergio Isa Dos Santos said the figures suggest the practice remains entrenched despite being outlawed.

“There has been a year-on-year increase from one incident investigated in 2023 to eight in 2026 … There is also concern that learners may be afraid to report abuse because of intimidation,” he said.