Thumbs up for ANC Youth League and other PYA structures in Mpumalanga for standing up against the bully Cefups Academy For many years now Cefups Academy from Nelspruit in Mpumalanga has been on the news for wrong reasons. This school has produced many learners who have excelled in life and yet it fails to do a simple thing and that this respecting the rule of law. This school still practices corporal punishment and even though there has been a lot of public outcry against this from many sections of Mpumalanga and beyond, they fell into the deaf ear, the main culprit being the school principal, Simon Mkhatshwa. In 1997 this man was charged with assault after twisting a learner’s testicles, two years later he was found guilty of sjambokking a teacher. As if this was not enough, in 2007 he was accused of whipping a taxi driver and worse last week a pupil died after being whipped at the school. Surely this man thinks that he is above the law and untouchable. This is the reason why principals like him do not deserve to find space in our democratic country. Corporal punishment is outlawed in South Africa and yet he undermines the country’s constitution by taking law into his own hands. The culture of teaching and learning cannot prosper if we have schools like Cefups Academy that have turned the schooling environment into hell for many learners. Schools are supposed to be a safe heaven for these pupils not a place misery and sufferings, for this will lead to a high level of dropouts in schools. The decision by the ANC Youth League and other PYA formations to demand for the school to be shut down is a bold one. There are many other private schools in Mpumalanga where pupils can enrol without fear of being sjamboked by the very same people who are supposed to protect them. This move need to be supported by all stake holders including our government. Parents too need to support it by not enrolling their children there. Let us not put our children in a position where they will be scared to go to school because they fear losing their lives. This cannot be allowed to go on, enough is enough and big up to the ANCYL and other PYA structures for standing up against this bully. The Future is ours and ours alone!! Tom Mhlanga is a BA student at Wits and comes from Mbombela, Mpumalanga Province. 076 8132 613
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 09:50:44 +0000
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