NW Teacher served with a precautionary suspension letter after locking learners in a strong room

A deputy principal from Madiba-a-Tolwana Secondary School near Jericho has been served with a precautionary suspension letter after locking four boy-learners in a strong room on Wednesday, 03 March 2020 pending a formal investigation.

This swift reaction by the department follows a panic from parents who run to the local police station on Wednesday afternoon to file a case of missing children after the children did not make it home after school.

Upon hearing from other learners it turned out the four were locked up by the deputy principal in the strong room in his office as means of ‘punishment’ for bunking classes at around 14:00.

The search for the deputy principal to release the learners was in vain the whole day until the door was sawed down around 23:00 for their rescue.

MEC Mmaphefo Matsemela sees this as grossly’ harsh and inhumane’ punishment.

“ I strongly condemn with contempt the harsh and inhumane punishment by the deputy principal that is meted against our learners. Punishment is ought to be corrective rather than punitive and we deem this as the latter in the department. Already we have a team investigating the matter and continuous counselling is being granted to the learners”, said Matsemela.

Currently the deputy principal has been apprehended by the police.

Issued by Media Liaison Unit
For further or more info, please contact:
Elias Malindi  – Media Liaison Manager
072 115 4855/072 892 8399