Girl’s ordeal sparks school probe

A grade 5 Port Elizabeth pupil was allegedly locked in a sickbay at Sydenham Primary School – and forgotten for the entire school day – after she was accused of making a noise outside a classroom.

The girl, 10, reportedly had a panic attack as a result and was finally rescued by another teacher who heard her sobs on Monday afternoon.

The Eastern Cape department of education is now probing the incident.

Principal Nomsa Mzinzi submitted a full report to the department on Wednesday after conducting an internal investigation into the claims involving teacher Michelle Smith, who is alleged to have locked the girl in the sickbay.

“A psychologist from the department is with the pupil, counselling her as we speak,” Mzinzi said.

“I have spoken to all the role-players to get the full story. The department must now deal with the matter.”

She said it was up to the education department to implement disciplinary proceedings if it saw fit.

Smith, who is still at school, said: “My principal is dealing with the matter so I prefer not to comment.”

The little girl’s story caused outrage on social media after her cousin, a Port Elizabeth businesswoman, posted on Facebook that the family had been called to the school by another member of the teaching staff because the pupil had suffered an anxiety attack.

“[My cousin] missed the whole day of classes [on Monday] because she was [allegedly] locked up at the sickbay by Mrs Smith,” the woman wrote.

“Mrs Smith claims that she heard my cousin speaking in the corridor and decided to lock her in the sickbay (mind you that she wasn’t sick) and had forgotten about her.”

The girl’s upset mother – also a teacher in PE – said she had met with the school’s deputy principal and would meet with Mzinzi on Thursday.

The woman said Smith had not reached out to them.

“Officials from the department of education are involved now and promised to ensure that my daughter receives counselling,” the mother said.

Provincial education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed that the department was now dealing with the matter.

Mtima said officers from the department had spent much of Wednesday at the school.

“We are looking at the legalities of the report submitted to us by the school as at the end of the day we want Sydenham Primary to continue to operate in a peaceful manner. Those who defaulted will face disciplinary hearings,” Mtima said.

“We will not compromise on the fact that at the end of the day learners have the right to be taught.

“We don’t want to promote unruly behaviour from learners, and at the same time we want to ensure that educators abide by the rule of law.”

The girl’s older cousin had further posted on Facebook that the pupil had been walking from her IT class to her next period when she was allegedly forcefully dragged by the teacher and locked in the sickbay until after 1pm.

The woman said on Wednesday an anonymous person had since reported her post to Facebook as being “offensive” and that it had been removed from her profile, although it was still doing the rounds.