'It's horrible to hurt a young man'
5 August 2009, 16:12
By Noelene Barbeau
The mother of a boy at the centre of a row between the Education Department and his school believes he is being victimised.
The suspended 13-year-old is waiting to hear whether he can return to school. His mother is waiting for feedback from the Department of Education and the school's governing body is waiting to hear whether its application for an interdict to prevent the boy from returning to school is successful.
The Grade 7 pupil was seen on CCTV cameras, installed in each classroom at Kenmont School on the Bluff, taking out a knife from his sock after an argument with a fellow pupil. He was seen chasing the boy around the classroom and then outside into the corridors.
The young boy's mother is disgusted with the way the school has handled the matter and firmly believes her child is being victimised.
"My son is disillusioned and upset. He's seen two social workers and a psychologist. Psychologically they are messing him up. Even a criminal gets a better chance than he has been given. He says other people interfere with him and he gets picked on," said the mother.
The knife incident took place on May 29 and he has not returned to school since. In the interim, a disciplinary hearing was held and the school suspended him for five days.
The Department of Education apparently wanted him back at school this week, however a parents' meeting at the school on Wednesday indicated that many parents feared for their children's safety and wanted proper action and answers from the Education Department.
The school governing body's urgent court application for an interdict preventing the boy from returning to school is expected to be heard in court today.
The mother received a call on May 29 from the school asking her to fetch her son from the Brighton Police Station. She said the school told her they were not taking him back and they had video footage of his attempted stabbing.
"I asked them to tell me what had happened at the school two days before this when my son had come home with a black eye. They said they did not know because it wasn't reported. I told them to figure it out because no child takes a knife to school for no reason."
This is the second suspension her son has faced. He was suspended in the first school term last year for allegedly sexually harassing a young pupil.
The mother called this incident "a lot of nonsense" and felt it was blown out of proportion.
On the knife incident, she has had no joy from the Education Department and had taken her complaints to the main office in Pietermaritzburg.
She said the last time she heard from the school was last Friday when the school asked her to collect school work for her son to complete while he was at home.
Rob Allan, school governing body vice-chairman, said the school was not fighting against the young boy, but the education system. He said the school followed the correct disciplinary steps and tried corrective measures and in the end recommended he be expelled. The Department apparently told the school yesterday morning that the boy should return to school.
"It's horrible to hurt a young man and I'm not feeling good about this," he said referring to their court interdict against the 13-year-old. "We want the system to be changed to bring moral standards back into the school."
A well-placed department official said the boy had been diagnosed with a condition and was receiving treatment. A clinical psychologist was working with him. Next Monday an evaluation would be conducted to decide on a way forward.
The mother of a boy at the centre of a row between the Education Department and his school believes he is being victimised.
The suspended 13-year-old is waiting to hear whether he can return to school. His mother is waiting for feedback from the Department of Education and the school's governing body is waiting to hear whether its application for an interdict to prevent the boy from returning to school is successful.
The Grade 7 pupil was seen on CCTV cameras, installed in each classroom at Kenmont School on the Bluff, taking out a knife from his sock after an argument with a fellow pupil. He was seen chasing the boy around the classroom and then outside into the corridors.
The young boy's mother is disgusted with the way the school has handled the matter and firmly believes her child is being victimised.
"My son is disillusioned and upset. He's seen two social workers and a psychologist. Psychologically they are messing him up. Even a criminal gets a better chance than he has been given. He says other people interfere with him and he gets picked on," said the mother.
The knife incident took place on May 29 and he has not returned to school since. In the interim, a disciplinary hearing was held and the school suspended him for five days.
The Department of Education apparently wanted him back at school this week, however a parents' meeting at the school on Wednesday indicated that many parents feared for their children's safety and wanted proper action and answers from the Education Department.
The school governing body's urgent court application for an interdict preventing the boy from returning to school is expected to be heard in court today.
The mother received a call on May 29 from the school asking her to fetch her son from the Brighton Police Station. She said the school told her they were not taking him back and they had video footage of his attempted stabbing.
"I asked them to tell me what had happened at the school two days before this when my son had come home with a black eye. They said they did not know because it wasn't reported. I told them to figure it out because no child takes a knife to school for no reason."
This is the second suspension her son has faced. He was suspended in the first school term last year for allegedly sexually harassing a young pupil.
The mother called this incident "a lot of nonsense" and felt it was blown out of proportion.
On the knife incident, she has had no joy from the Education Department and had taken her complaints to the main office in Pietermaritzburg.
She said the last time she heard from the school was last Friday when the school asked her to collect school work for her son to complete while he was at home.
Rob Allan, school governing body vice-chairman, said the school was not fighting against the young boy, but the education system. He said the school followed the correct disciplinary steps and tried corrective measures and in the end recommended he be expelled. The Department apparently told the school yesterday morning that the boy should return to school.
"It's horrible to hurt a young man and I'm not feeling good about this," he said referring to their court interdict against the 13-year-old. "We want the system to be changed to bring moral standards back into the school."
A well-placed department official said the boy had been diagnosed with a condition and was receiving treatment. A clinical psychologist was working with him. Next Monday an evaluation would be conducted to decide on a way forward.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Daily News on August 05, 2009
Durban
