Free State principal under investigation for alleged corporal punishment offence

Images circulating on social media allegedly showing a Free State high school principal using corporal punishment on a pupil have drawn condemnation from the Free State department of education.

The department has expressed deep concern over the matter, saying the punishment was allegedly meted out to the pupil for skipping detention at Ntsu Secondary School in Bethlehem’s Thabo Mofutsanyane District.

The department on Sunday announced that the incident was under investigation, and harsh action would be taken against any person found guilty of violating the ban on corporal punishment.

In September 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that the common law defence of “reasonable and moderate chastisement” was unconstitutional, effectively banning all corporal punishment of children.

The department said school governing bodies had been instructed to eliminate corporal punishment in schools.

Free State education department spokesperson Howard Ndaba said teachers and all school staff should “desist from administering corporal punishment against learners”.

“We also urge SGBs to make sure that they monitor the use of corporal punishment in our schools. But equally, we also urge learners to exercise high levels of discipline in school,” he said.

“Corporal punishment is a violation of children’s rights, physical integrity, dignity, health, development and education. The effects of corporal punishment are far-reaching and can cause mental and physical harm to children as well as short- and long-term aggression and antisocial behaviour in learners, even as they mature.”

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