‘I saw the video‚ I’m very hurt‚’ says abused teen’s mother

The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly assaulted by his teacher says the Bloemfontein school has suspended her son.

The incident was captured on video. The woman‚ who asked not to be named to protect the identity of her son‚ said the Academy of Excellence kept mum about the footage until five days later.

“I didn’t know anything happened to my son until I got calls from journalists asking about the incident. The school didn’t even have the decency to call me until they felt pressed by the media and that is when they took action against the teacher‚” the mother said.

She said the incident happened on Friday last week but her husband received a call from the school on Wednesday.

“They asked his father to attend a school meeting and after that he called me to say our son has been suspended from school pending a disciplinary action against him‚ but what did my son do?” she asked.

The mother says her son was allegedly involved in an argument with a fellow pupil over a piece of paper when the teacher asked him to leave.

“He apparently refused to leave and asked him [the teacher] why he should be the only one chased out of class. The teacher then got angry and pulled him by the neck‚ threw him down and stepped on him.”

 “I saw the video and I am very hurt. Who does that to another human being? My child is so traumatised and I am considering taking legal action against the teacher because the school is protecting him and the department of education is not helping us‚” she fumed.

 The Free State Department of Education said it is aware of the matter and the school‚ which is independent‚ is investigating the case.

Attempts to get hold of the school on Friday were not successful.