BULLYING STOPS HERE

A KZN principal is being praised for expelling a learner after a nasty incident at his school

- SIPHOKAZI ZAMA

THE video was just 22 seconds long but it made his blood run cold.

In his 30 years as an educator, he’d never seen anything quite like it. In the clip, a Grade 10 learner can be seen slapping a fellow pupil in what appears to be the school’s bathroom while other students can be seen watching the attack.

The incident, which took place last month, rocked the small school community and enraged acting principal Johannes Mouton (51).

He knew he needed to act fast and decisively to prove Canaan College, a new private school in Umlazi, eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, had a zero-tolerance approach when it came to bullying.

The learner was expelled – and in a country where bullying is rife and tragic tales of the damage bullying can do are all too frequent, Johannes was hailed as a hero.

“This is what every school needs to do,” one parent said on YOU’s Facebook page.

“If action is taken swiftly, it might deter others from doing the same,” another adds. “Our children need to be safe in schools and not at the mercy of bullies who act with impunity.”

“We need more people like this,” another says. “Bullying is real and needs to be stamped out.”

Johannes says he was acting both as an educator and a parent. “When I saw the video, I was angry and disappointed,” he says.

“If I saw a video of my child being beaten, I’d be furious.”

The school launched an immediate investigation, taking into account the age of the learners involved, the school’s code of conduct when it comes to bullying, and whether mediation between the parties involved was an option.