BOKSBURG - What was meant to be a disciplinary measure has sparked outrage at a Vosloorus school, after 17 pupils say they were stripped, slapped and beaten with shoes for arriving late.
The Gauteng Education Department has confirmed that members of a private security team at Erasmus Monareng Secondary School assaulted the pupils during a search operation.
The pupils say they were taken to the school’s staffroom, where they were allegedly beaten.
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Some pupils claim they were ordered to remove their clothes before being beaten with shoes and slapped when they refused.
The department has identified members of the private security company who were part of the operation as those allegedly responsible for the assault.
Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile says criminal charges will be opened against those found to have broken the law.
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“We condemn corporal punishment in the strongest possible terms,” Maile said.
While some parents are calling for tougher discipline, corporal punishment is illegal in South Africa.
“These children are ill-disciplined,” said a parent at the school.
“Their behaviour is outrageous, teachers themselves can’t do anything with those kids,” he said.
Whatever disciplinary problems schools face, the Education Department says violence against pupils cannot be the answer.
The incident has also raised questions about accountability, with pupils demanding that those responsible be held accountable.
The department says investigations are continuing.