The Gauteng department of education has suspended a Soweto teacher who was arrested for allegedly administering 92 lashes to a grade 11 pupil as punishment.
The 16-year-old girl from Tetelo Secondary School in Protea North had allegedly exceeded the word count in an essay assignment when she was beaten with a pipe.
As a result of the assault, the teenage girl, who cannot be named to protect her identity, suffered blisters and blood clots on her left hand and had to receive treatment in hospital. She is also undergoing trauma counselling.
It has been almost a month since she set foot at school, and the family claims the department has remained silent to their request that their child be moved to another school.
The teacher, Mpho Ramapatsi, is currently out on bail and faces a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said: “It must be noted that the said educator is currently on precautionary suspension pending a disciplinary hearing, and the outcome thereof will determine the action to be taken.”
The pupil’s family said the department has not been in communication with them and that community leaders have stepped in to assist with the cost of taking her for counselling.
“The department has been silent on us, and I have even decided to take my sister to counselling sessions, which members of the Each One Teach One Foundation have helped pay for.
“All we want is for my sister to be moved to a different school because she will no longer be comfortable at that school,” said the older sister *Tebogo.
However, Mabona said the pupil had been expected to report to school yesterday but did not return.
“The department can confirm that we have been in constant contact with the guardian and the affected learner was expected to return to school on Monday, 16 March 2026. However, she never reported to school,” said Mabona.
National education department spokesperson Lukhanyo Vangqa said corporal punishment is strictly prohibited in schools.
“The BELA Act goes further to make it a criminal offence to utilise corporal punishment in schools. This is in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,” said Vangqa.
“Any educator or official found guilty of administering corporal punishment will face consequences, which may include dismissal and being reported to the South African Council for Educators and the South African Police Service.”
Earlier this month, Tebogo revealed that she had discovered a suicide note written by her sister, in which the teenager blamed herself for the incident. “She said she wished she could sleep and never wake up,” Tebogo said.
In the letter, the pupil is said to have written: “School is supposed to be a safe place and a second home for us learners. How are we supposed to learn if we are hospitalised for making mistakes? I can’t sleep at night because I keep seeing what happened to me.”
The teacher is expected back in court on April 8.
*Not her real name
Sowetan
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