Handbook drafted to help teachers deal with violence at schools

Teachers are getting their own new textbook — a guide to protecting themselves against violent and abusive pupils in class.

The South African Council for Educators (Sace) has drafted a 124-page handbook on how teachers in primary and high schools should deal with violent situations.

The scenarios — based on real-life events in local classrooms — include one pupil stabbing another with a pair of scissors, a pupil under the influence of drugs and alcohol shoving a teacher, and a bully waiting to confront a teacher outside school.

Preparation of the Handbook for Teachers’ Rights, Responsibilities and Safety follows a string of violent crimes in schools across SA in which teachers have been viciously attacked.

Sace spokesperson Themba Ndhlovu said the idea was to avoid having teachers feel they needed to arm themselves, “as we cannot afford to turn our schools into war zones”.

Other scenarios in the guide include:

• A pupil approaches a woman teacher, pulls a condom out of his pocket and laughs: “Ma’am, you and me, come let’s go.” The teacher is advised against “trying to punish the learner herself” and to report the incident immediately;
• A pupil shouts: “Ma’am, I will beat you, I will beat you.” The recommendation again is to report immediately to the principal’s office and not to argue with the pupil, who might be on drugs;
• A pupil submits his answer sheet five minutes after an exam starts, not bothering to answer any of the questions, and says he’ll use it as toilet paper. The teacher is advised not to slap the pupil, as happened in an incident in 2018; and
• A pupil who gets a failing mark for an essay demands a private meeting in a teacher’s office, then raises his voice and gesticulates wildly. The teacher is advised not to remain alone with the pupil behind the closed door.

Ndhlovu said: “During the recent feedback sessions in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape, teachers responded very positively to the safety measures. We are trying to provide advice on how teachers can best handle situations they are confronted with on a daily basis.”

Still in its draft form, the guide was written by a consulting company in conjunction with the Sace.

Professor Labby Ramrathan of the University of KwaZulu-Natal said teachers were under siege. They should be able to “create an open environment for dialogue, contestation and a space where learners feel comfortable to raise issues”, without having to worry that by doing so they might be putting themselves at risk.

Ramrathan said the handbook should become “a living document” and part of every teacher’s skill set. “Otherwise it will just become another publication lying in the principal’s office.”

Teachers who took part in the compilation of the handbook said pupils who behaved violently against them should face more severe punishment.