Claim against Eersterust school dismissed
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.
A Pretoria News report says Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) Judge Peter Mabuse 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 – 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.
Mhlongo claimed that as a result of the teachers on schoolground duty failing 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.
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.
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, adds the Pretoria News report.
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.
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.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
