The Gauteng education department has told Rand Park High in Johannesburg to re-admit a girl who stopped going to school out of fear after allegedly being “shoved” by her former boyfriend on the school grounds.
The 15-year-old’s mother said she removed her from school after the incident with her former boyfriend, who is 16 and also a pupil at Rand Park High.
On September 14 after issuing her a transfer and report card, the school cut off her access to its online platform for remote learning. No action was taken against the former boyfriend.
The girl’s mother, who has opened an assault charge with police, said she requested a transfer card for her daughter after the school failed to guarantee her safety.
But the boy’s father told the Sunday Times this week that his son did not pose a danger to the girl’s safety and that the assault charge was not warranted.
“He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. It wasn’t a malicious poke and I don’t believe there was any wrongdoing …
“[My son told the girl:] ‘There was a different way of doing this. You didn’t have to be bitchy about the whole situation.’ It wasn’t the right word to use but I believe there was no malicious intent behind the word.”
He said his son had expressed remorse and was undergoing counselling.
The girl’s mother said her daughter had been standing with a group of friends when the former boyfriend “shoved her in the back and called her names”.
“While I understand the school doesn’t need to be involved in any teenage break-up … where someone feels threatened you’d expect them to take it a bit more seriously.”
The girl said she is also going to counselling because she had been traumatised.
“I still keep looking over my shoulder when I am in public.”
She said the school should not have blocked her from online learning. “My right to education was violated. The school punished me for something I didn’t do instead of punishing [the boy].
“They would rather have me go away than deal with the situation.”In frustration, the mother tweeted about the incident and was contacted by a department official who advised her to seek re-admission for her daughter.
On Wednesday, school principal Alan Wilke sent her an e-mail saying her request for re-admission had been granted and the girl could access the online platform again. She will write her tests in a room earmarked for pupils with Covid co-morbidities.
Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona said: “The school undertook that the child will be safe as they have interacted with the said boy to stay away from her. We have instructed the school to finalise the disciplinary hearing urgently.”
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