WCED records 96 incidents of teachers being attacked by learners

The Western Cape Education Department has recorded 96 incidents of teachers being attacked by learners.
 
Nomusa Cembi, the media officer for the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU), said more and more teachers are leaving the profession because they are scarred for life.
 
She added that the union has engaged the Department of Labour to extend the legislation on compensation for occupational injuries to include teachers assaulted by learners.
 
"The department has constitutional and international obligations to protect educators. The national executive committee resolved to engage the Ministry of Labour to extend the coverage of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act to include educators.”
 
Cembi said similar cases have been reported in four other provinces and added that little is being done to instil discipline in schools.
 
"In Gauteng, in the North West, in Limpopo, in KwaZulu-Natal and in the Western Cape, if a learner transgresses at school, the learner will be suspended for a few days and at the end of the day, the learner will come back to school. Very little is being done to ensure that learners really feel that what they've done is wrong.”