The IFP has described the call made by Cosas that learners must beat teachers as irresponsible and detrimental to education.
“We are totally against any form of violence and we are totally opposed by the call made by Cosas. We believe that this will fuel violence in schools and endanger the lives of teachers and learners as there will be many cases of fist fights between learners and teachers. We should instead encourage learners to be disciplined and to report incidences of unlawful conduct by teachers,” said IFP KZN Provincial Education Spokesperson, Mrs Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa,MPL.
“This call is completely unacceptable and we cannot allow a situation where schools are turned into war zones, or places where violence between teachers and learners becomes common place. It has the risk of escalating the incidents of violence where both learners and teachers could be at risk of serious harm and will not be tolerated in any school,” continued Mrs Madlopha-Mthethwa.
“We are extremely concerned about the damage that this call will do to the ethos of teaching and learning at our schools. Whilst learners must understand that teachers are there to educate them, teachers must realise that corporal punishment was banned a long time ago. Teachers must not fraternise with learners and behave in an irresponsible manner. They must be good role models to their learners and their communities so as to earn respect in the classroom,” added Madlopha-Mthethwa.
“We call on the police and the Department of Education to be more pro-active in investigating cases involving violence in schools. Investigations must be fast and those involved must be held accountable. The slow pace in dealing with cases of ill-discipline by both learners and teachers seems to be the major contributing factor to such irresponsible calls being made by Cosas,” concluded Madlopha-Mthethwa.
Issued by:
IFP KZN Education Spokesperson,
Mrs Thembeni KaMadlopha-Mthethwa, MPL, 071 884 3844 or 079 114 3015
Media enquiries:
Mr Phendulani Biyase, IFP KZN Legislature Media Liaison Officer, 073 024 5675
