Staff members at a school are neither God nor air, a judge said in turning down a damages claim by a now former pupil at Nantes Primary School in Eersterust who blamed the school for the fact that he was attacked by a fellow pupil on the schoolground during a break.
The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in fact commended the school for having two teachers on duty at a time who walked around the school grounds to ensure that the children are safe during breaktime.
Mpho Mhlongo, who was a pupil at the school during 2017 when the incident occurred, turned to court to claim damages from the Gauteng MEC for Education. He blamed the school for his injuries and claimed that it occurred as the teachers did not ensure his safety.
Mhlongo instituted the damages claim himself, as he has meanwhile turned 18 and is no longer in school.
It emerged that Mhlongo was not allowed on the school grounds that day, as he was suspended earlier for allegedly stabbing a fellow pupil with a pen and taking a teacher’s laptop.
He was permitted on the grounds solely to write his exams; however, he did not have any exams scheduled on the day of the incident. According to the school, he illegally gained entrance by jumping over a fence.
Mhlongo claimed that as a result of the teachers on schoolground duty who failed to ensure that the area was safe, he was kicked by a fellow pupil. He said he fell with his head on a steel pipe and suffered severe brain injuries.
One of his friends testified that on the day of the incident, the children were in the vicinity of the tennis court. Some played soccer while others gambled. He said a fellow pupil attacked Mhlongo and the latter fell on the ground.
According to the friend, the fellow pupil was angry at everyone as someone had stolen his hat. The witness said the attacker kicked everyone around him, yet there was no teacher in sight. According to him, teachers would “now and then” on certain days walk around the schoolground, but he was adamant that on this day, there were no teachers on duty to supervise the children.
The headmistress testified that there were always two teachers on duty. As they had to supervise the playground, they could not stand still at one point as they had to walk around. The headmistress said she was very strict about the fact that the children had to be supervised during breaks.
One of the teachers who was on duty said she saw a group of boys gathered at the tennis court. She asked them what they were doing, and they said they were looking for a ball. She asked them if all was in order, and they said yes.
Neither of the two teachers on duty saw the incident, as they were doing their rounds and all seemed to be in order.
It was argued on behalf of Mhlongo that the teachers had failed in their duty of care towards him as they did not prevent the incident from happening.
Judge Peter Mabuse noted that Mhlongo did not testify himself, nor were any details of his injuries placed before the court.
In deciding whether the school was negligent, the judge said: “The plaintiff was not the only learner on the school grounds that day. It would be naive to think that the attention of the educators who were doing playground supervision should be focused on him.”
The judge added that the teachers had to focus on what they were seeing while walking around. He commended the school as the headmistress said they ensure that there are at least one, sometimes two, teachers on schoolground duty to ensure the safety of the children.
Judge Mabuse said the fact that the incident took place is not indicative that the teachers did not do their duty properly on that day. It only shows that they cannot be everywhere on the school premises, he said.
In turning down the claim, the judge said it was not proved that the school was negligent.
Pretoria News