Daily News reports that the mother of an eight year-old boy who was allegedly punched in the face by his teacher in Gingindlovu in northern KwaZulu-Natal wants justice for her son.  

The woman said her son sustained a head injury after his teacher accused him of copying during a test and then assaulted him.  The provincial education department said it would investigate the matter and if the allegations were true, serious action would be taken against the teacher.  The mother of the Grade 3 pupil advised that she had opened a case of common assault against the teacher.  The woman indicated that she and her son were still traumatised by the incident since no action had been taken against the teacher even though several weeks had elapsed.  Following the incident, her son missed two weeks of school while recovering.  He was now back at school, but still complained of severe headaches.  The teacher apparently apologised for the incident and asked to pay for the boy’s medical expenses.  But, the mother refused to take the money “because I want justice to prevent this from happening to other children.”  She claimed her neighbour’s child was also beaten up by a teacher at the same school, which meant they were using corporal punishment, which was unlawful.

• Read the full original of Sne Masuku’s report on this story at Daily News

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