Bully teacher beats up principal

Teachers at a Johannesburg high school fear for their safety after one of their colleagues severely assaulted and threatened to kill the principal.

The incident is one of many in a trend the SA Council of Educators (Sace) cited in its annual report for 2013/2014 as being on the increase.

Sace, which is responsible for the regulation of the professional conduct of teachers, said it had "seen a sharp increase" in the number of reported cases of teachers assaulting one another at school.

The number of reported cases of unprofessional conduct was 146.

University of Pretoria educational psychologist Professor Kobus Maree said research has found that teachers were highly stressed, frustrated and work under a lot of pressure. "So, stress levels are very high and a person who is easily triggered may lose it, which might be what leads to the violence among teachers," said Maree.

Sace chief executive Rej Brijraj said during disciplinary processes, a number of teachers usually cite their working conditions as frustrating, which leads them to be violent with their colleagues or pupils.

"But, we have always said that to be a suitable teacher you can't be temperamental. The teaching profession does not need those kind of people and you cannot use your [working] conditions as an excuse to be violent," said Brijraj.

He said the council sends the teachers for counselling or anger management courses.

In the latest incident, teachers at Goudveld Senior School in Langlaagte now fear the worst after the perpetrator returned to work just a day after the incident.

A teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal said the incident happened two weeks ago after a disagreement between the teacher and the principal, allegedly over school finances.

"Two security guards at the school came into the principal's office to ask about their payment after they had fitted tiles at the school. The principal called him [the teacher] because he heads the maintenance committee at the school but things got so heated between them that he beat the principal and threatened to kill him.

"He went outside the office and came back again and hit him and even threw things at the principal."

District officials were called in to the school. The teacher left and returned a day after the incident.

"Things are so tense now and we are scared of him because he is a bully," the teacher said.

Gauteng education spokeswoman Phumla Sekhonyane said "the department is extremely disappointed by the alleged conduct".

She said teachers must lead by example and ensure that pupils mirror their conduct in creating a safe school environment. "The department has referred the matter for appropriate disciplinary action."

In terms of the Employment of Educators Act, a teacher found guilty of "assaults, or attempts to or threatens to assault, another employee or person" must be fired.

In April, the KwaZulu-Natal department of education was investigating allegations that a teacher had been assaulted by a principal over a vacant position at a primary school in Msinga.

In another incident in KwaZulu-Natal, a teacher was hospitalised after being stabbed several times by a school principal in Newcastle for allegedly arriving late for work.

macupeb@sowetan.co.za