Injured pupil to have second brain surgery

A 15-year-old pupil, who was allegedly assaulted by his teacher, will undergo a second head operation on Thursday.

Masekela Manyama, a grade 10 pupil at Molabosane High School in Tickyline, outside Tzaneen, was admitted to the Polokwane Provincial Hospital three weeks after sustaining head injuries. His teacher allegedly banged his head against the wall.

Masekela's mother, Nomvula Ngobeni, 51, said her son was beaten for allegedly having in his possession a cap on school premises on September 5. The cap is not part of the school uniform.

"I'm praying for God to spare my son's life. I'm a Christian. I can't wish him bad luck... though he lied and said my son was smoking weed and fell due to epilepsy," she said.

Ngobeni said Masekela slowly regained his speech last week and told her that his teacher approached him and demanded he hand over his cap, which he claimed he was not wearing at that time.

"He said he refused, told him it was hot and he only wears the cap when he goes home. He managed to outrun the teacher and went to his classroom.

"He said the teacher then came after him a few minutes [later] and pulled him out of class while another teacher was busy with lessons," she said. She said the teacher again demanded he hand over the cap.

"My son said he ran around the class and jumped on desks. When he sat down he was met with a slap on his face from the teacher. After that the teacher grabbed him by his school shirt and pushed him against the wall, injuring him.

"When the teacher pushed him for the second time, my son's shirt was torn and he landed on the desk," she said.

Ngobeni said Masekela could not eat since the incident and was being fed through tubes. She said a doctor told her that her son needed to undergo a second surgery to drain blood from his brain.

School governing body chairperson Thomas Malatji said: "The matter was reported to the police and we have been advised to allow police investigations to take place."

Police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe was not available for comment.

Department of education spokesperson Sam Makondo said it had learnt about the incident.

"We are busy with the investigation so that proper action is taken either way in terms of disciplinary processes. The department does not condone violence of any kind in schools. Pupils and educators alike have to respect the laws as prescribed," he said.