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Section 27 to appeal judgment against two educators regarding corporal punishment

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The High Court in Pretoria has granted advocacy group Section 27 leave to appeal a judgment to review what it views as lenient sentences against two violent educators. The case relates to educators who have assaulted two learners back in 2020.

The educators were fined R15 000 each, of which R10 000 was suspended.

The advocacy group has taken the court decision on appeal as part of its campaign to enforce the ban on corporal punishment in schools.

The High Court in Pretoria initially ordered the South African Council of Educators (SACE) to revise its mandatory sanctions policy, however the order did not order SACE to reconsider the leniency with which it sentenced two teachers who used corporal punishment in their classrooms.

The matter stems from an application instituted in 2020, challenging the decisions of SACE for the lenient sanctions it imposed on the teachers who pleaded guilty for assaulting learners in their classrooms.

In one case, a teacher was charged with beating two Grade 2 learners over the head with a PVC pipe, causing physical and psychological harm. In the second instance, a teacher hit a Grade 5 learner across the face, causing the child to bleed from the ear.

 

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