The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) demands teachers and learners be treated with equal fairness when held to account for school violence.
South Africans were left shell-shocked when a video circulating on social media platforms showed a teacher and a learner embroiled in a scuffle.
The Gauteng Education Department to launch an investigation following the fight between a teacher and a Grade 9 pupil at Glenvista High School, south of Joburg.
In the video, the learner and teacher are trading blows in a classroom, in front of other learners.
The pair also throw desks at each other, damaging school property.
The incident has been widely condemned.
The Gauteng Education Department said it did not take the matter lightly, which was why it had since launched an investigation.
On Monday, Sadtu, which represents more than 250 000 teachers and workers in the education sector, said the department must exercise fairness in its processes in order to ensure the learner and teacher were held to account for their behaviour.
“It is unfortunate that the law and the South African Council for Educators have prescribed sanctions for teachers who engage in physical confrontation with the learners, but these do not exist for learners.
“Sadtu demands justice and fairness in dealing with the fight between learners and teacher at the Glenvista High School,” the union said.
Sadtu has called for the department to provide counselling to the teacher and the colleagues who witnessed the fight as they too had been traumatised by the incident.
“The department must provide psych0social counselling to all the teachers because they have been affected by the attack on their colleague. Just like learners, teachers have rights and deserve fair treatment from the employer, who is the Gauteng Department of Education,” the union said.
Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the incident took place last Thursday, May 2, 2024. He added that the matter would be dealt with swiftly to ensure the safety of all stakeholders.
“A video of the incident was captured. The Gauteng Department of Education has since launched an investigation. The MEC has indicated that he takes the matter seriously,” said Mabona.
The Star