Parents of pupils attending a daycare centre in Phoenix embarked on a peaceful protest at the school’s gate yesterday morning, calling for the dismissal of the school’s principal and the teacher implicated in the alleged assault of a 2-year-old. Parents have spoken up about their children being assaulted in a daycare centre.
DURBAN - PARENTS of pupils attending a daycare centre in Phoenix embarked on a peaceful protest at the school’s gate yesterday morning, calling for the dismissal of the school’s principal and the teacher implicated in the alleged assault of a 2-year-old.
Preshalin Pillay, a parent, said he was concerned when his child had bruises last week.
“I noticed that my child was bruised and had a swollen nose when I picked him up from school on Thursday.
“I asked the teacher what happened and she told me that the child fell, I left and on my way I got so concerned that I called them again to tell them that I want to inspect the CCTV footage to see how the child fell.
“They were very reluctant and said they needed permission from the principal for me to view the footage.”
He alleged that the footage, which he got access to, showed the teacher assaulting his child and him falling down on his face.
His child had previously said he did not want to go to school, Pillay said.
“I would notice how he did not want to go to school every morning as he would cry when I dropped him off, but I would force him because I thought he was just being a child.”
Pillay said he had opened an assault case against the teacher with the police. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed that police were investigating an assault case.
“A case of assault was opened for investigation by Phoenix SAPS after a 2-year-old child was assaulted while at a crèche in Phoenix on September 23.
The docket has been transferred to the FCS (Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences) Unit for further investigation,” said Gwala.
Spokesperson for the Department of Social Development in KZN, Mhlabunzima Memela, said they have dispatched a team of social workers to investigate the case.
“While we are still waiting for the report to come back, we would like to know if the procedures were followed when hiring the teachers. As the department, we have the responsibility to ensure that ECD (early childhood development) centres are a safe environment for children,” he said.
Memela said the social workers would also meet the parents of the child to evaluate the well-being of the child following the incident. The principal of the school said they did not wish to comment on the matter.
THE MERCURY
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