A Johannesburg teacher is attacked by one of his pupils. File photo: Independent Newspapers A Johannesburg teacher is attacked by one of his pupils. File photo: Independent Newspapers
Schools are supposed to be repositories of knowledge where discipline and moral injunctions are taught.
The school is an institution that exemplifies everything that society aspires to. When a teacher is attacked, stabbed and killed in school by his pupil, the universal question that needs to be asked is, “Where have we gone wrong?” Have pupils been given more rights than teachers?
As an educator, don’t you ever dare administer any punishment on the pupil. There are regulated laws against administering corporal punishment and relevant sanctions that can be imposed on the educator, including dismissal. Teachers are handicapped when faced with unruly pupils. Abuse of teachers at the hands of the pupils have gone viral on social media platforms.
If the status quo remains where delinquents are allowed to have a free reign at our schools, then the implications for the future looks bleak. Serious intervention strategies needs to be formulated to deal with pupils who have behavioural and learning impediments. This will include all organs of the state including SAPS, psychological and social services, educational experts and anybody else who has educational expertise that can add value to behavioural problems.
Teachers are inundated with huge class sizes and, to add injury to insult, they have to deal with rude, insolent pupils. These pupils are victims of their socio-economic circumstances and their behaviour is manifested in the classroom accordingly. Schools cannot be used as a dumping ground for our social and socio-economic challenges. Schools need to be treated as safe spaces like the way we treat our homes and workplaces. Anything less will be abdicating our responsibility.
A sustainable future needs to be created for our future leaders.
Let’s hope this incident is a catalyst for some positive change. Educators cannot give of their best knowing that they can be attacked so blatantly by pupils. A culture of teaching and learning can only thrive in a relaxed classroom atmosphere.
* Vijay Surujpal, Phoenix.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.