Teachers union Sadtu in the Eastern Cape said it was concerned about the apparent increase in the number of their members who were being attacked by learners at schools.
The union's provincial secretary, Khayalethu Mdingi, said the latest victim was the Principal of Osborne Senior Secondary School in Mount Frere, who was allegedly assaulted last Friday and suffered a large gash to the forehead.
Mdingi said teachers should not be charged with a criminal offence as long as there was no discipline and no disciplinary actions taken against learners who continue to assault and violate the rights of teachers in schools.
"We view this in an extremely serious light especially at this time of the year when the same learners are preparing for their final examinations. We cannot afford to experience such challenges considering all our efforts to improve our Grade 12 results," Mdingi said.
"Such low levels of discipline portrayed by these learners, to the point of injuring our member, cannot be tolerated.
"We call upon the Employer to exercise enough vigilance in dealing with this matter so as to ensure that the situation at the school is monitored in pursuit of quality public education," he added.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape Education Department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima, said the learner in question had been suspended.
He said the school's governing body is calling for all the learners who were involved in the assault of the principal to be expelled.
"We are continuously engaging everyone who is part of this and as such the call by Sadtu is in line with what we have done as a Department to ensure that we protect our employees and we follow set rules in terms of instituting a disciplinary hearing against the concerned learners," Mtima said.
Meanwhile, a video showing learners from a Northern Cape Secondary School engaged in a violent knife fight that left one in a critical condition has been doing the rounds on social media.
Northern Cape police spokesperson Jacque September confirmed the incident occurred this week.
He said two learners from a Upington Secondary School were wounded and transferred to hospital after one of the learners was stabbed in the neck.
Police in Thembalethu in George also held an operation at Thembalethu High School on Thursday.
The search operation of several classrooms was led by Eden Cluster Deputy Commander, Brigadier Phumzile Cetyana, to "make sure that the learners and teachers are safe".
The operation also followed reports of learners periodically fighting amongst each other.
George police said they searched nine classrooms with more than 300 learners but found no dangerous weapons.
This past week a 20-year-old learner was arrested for selling dagga to other learners at schools in Thembalethu.
He is due to appear in the George Magistrate's Court.
