Corporal Punishment: North West Education Investigates Principal After Viral Caning Video

• The North West Department of Education confirmed it is investigating a video that appears to show a principal striking pupils at a Klerksdorp school
• Officials became aware of the footage on Wednesday and dispatched a team to Prestige Secondary School in Alabama, Klerksdorp
• Corporal punishment has been banned in South African schools since 1996 and carries criminal penalties for those found guilty

KLERKSDORP - The North West Department of Education is investigating a video circulating on social media that appears to show a school principal caning students. The footage was allegedly filmed at Prestige Secondary School in Alabama, Klerksdorp.

The video spread widely online and shows what appears to be a principal striking pupils with a stick-like object in front of their classmates.

North West Department speaks out

Department spokesperson Dr Elias Malindi confirmed that officials became aware of the footage on Wednesday. A team was promptly sent to the school to look into the matter.

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"We are aware of it and are attending to the matter," he said

Dr Malindi said a decision on further action would only be made once the investigation had been completed.

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Corporal punishment in SA schools

Corporal punishment in South African schools has been prohibited under the South African Schools Act of 1996. Section 10 of the Act is explicit: no person may administer corporal punishment to a learner at a school. Any person who does so is guilty of an offence and can face criminal charges for assault.

The law has been in place for nearly three decades, yet cases of physical punishment in schools continue to surface periodically across the country.

The department has not yet indicated what disciplinary steps, if any, could follow once investigators complete their assessment of the Klerksdorp incident.

Prinicpal dimissed for abusing funds

Previously, Briefly News reported that a former school principal has failed in his attempt to reclaim his job after an arbitrator confirmed his dismissal was fully justified. P Bango,who served as acting principal at Northview High School, was fired by the Gauteng Department of Education on four counts of financial misconduct. The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) arbitrator who heard his case found no reason to overturn the decision. According to the department, he used school money to purchase a television, a laptop and a projector from Makro, totalling more than R23,400, and allegedly sent the equipment to his personal home rather than to the school.

Source: Briefly News