The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) said on Monday that it condemned the assault of a learner at the Adelaide Tambo School for the disabled in Soweto, allegedly at the hands of a food handler.
Another learner captured the incident where a 16-year-old learner was assaulted on the bus before she was taken out and left in the middle of nowhere.
GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said that the food handler was suspended and was out on bail after a criminal case was opened.
” As a department, we are very disappointed by the incident. We are not going to tolerate any ill-treatment of our learners by our officials.”
The department said that the incident was not reported to the district office by the school and, as a result, the department only learned about it when the video footage emerged.
“Officials from the Inclusion and Special Schools went to the school this morning to investigate the incident. In addition, officials from Labour Relations have launched an investigation surrounding the circumstances of the incident so that disciplinary measures can be initiated,” the GDE said in a statement.
“The parent of the learner was alerted about the incident on the 13 of September 2017 after the school failed to inform her. She opened a case on the same day and the food handler was arrested. She was later released on bail pending the police investigations.”
The department added that the food handler was no longer at the school, while the bus driver had been suspended as of Monday.
“The process of counselling all affected learners has commenced,” the department said.
Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “We are disappointed about this incident, extra care must be afforded to learners with disabilities. It is shocking to see the escalating incidents of assault taking place in our schools, as a department we will act vigorously in making sure that the perpetrators face the might of the law.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
