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Mentally and physically disabled children at the Inkanyiso Special School near Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal are being forced to eat on the floor and live in appalling conditions in its hostel because school funds are being abused.
The provincial education department is investigating claims by 12 teachers that children in the hostel are being physically and sexually abused.
The school’s hostel houses 200 of the school’s 340 pupils, aged between six and 21.
Teachers claim that their complaints have been covered up by the school and hostel management, despite repeated pleas for help.
Last year, after several attempts to address issues at the school with the principal and the school governing body, teachers submitted a dossier of grievances to the department. Their claims include:
. That pupils have been physically and sexually abused in the hostel, and one pupil became pregnant as a result;
. That there is not enough food to feed the children, who are fed on the floor because there is not enough furniture;
. That there is a critical shortage of teaching equipment and supplies, despite money being allocated for these facilities by the department; and
. That a senior member of the school’s management team, whose name is known to City Press, uses the school’s bus for private use, and not to transport pupils and staff.
Late last month, the group of 12 teachers approached City Press after a team appointed by the KwaZulu-Natal education department, which visited the school in March, failed to follow up on their complaints.
“They came and spoke to us, and then went to the principal afterwards. That was it,” said one of the teachers, who asked not to be named.
“We are worried that nothing is being done about the situation. We were told they would report back to us on April 1, but we’ve still heard nothing. The conditions at the hostel are bad. The furniture is broken, there’s no proper cleaning. The children eat on the floor and the food is bad. They get sick.”
Staff showed City Press video footage of a physically handicapped child left unattended on the floor, and of children eating on the floor.
A school incident report from 2013, which City Press has seen, states that a five-year-old pupil in the hostel was assaulted by five senior boys.
The report says the “small” boy was beaten, kicked and had his head covered with a pillow by the five older pupils, who used belts to whip him until he lost consciousness.
A pupil called the house mother and the youngster was taken to hospital, where he was treated overnight. The boy’s mother, the report stated, was only informed of the incident much later.
A member of the school governing body, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said the school finances were “in a mess”.
“The school has no money. There is no proper furniture in the hostel, which is a disgrace. The children are not properly fed. They are not properly supervised and there is no nurse in the hostel at night,” he said.
A parent, who also asked to remain anonymous, told City Press he had found his child unsupervised in a class with other pupils when he arrived to collect him after school.
“My child complained that they are left to watch DVDs with no supervision. There is occupational therapy, but not much, and there is no education in numeracy and literacy,” he said.
Department of education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the department had sent a team to investigate the school.
“A mixed group of officials went to the school last week to investigate the matters as raised. Once they finalise, based on their findings, they will recommend what steps or action is to be taken,” he said.
However, last Friday, teachers said that they were unaware of any new visit to the school by officials
