By Anita Dangazele
- A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a teacher at Bergview College in Matatiele.
- The school principal told the child’s mother to keep quiet about the rape to protect the school’s image.
The Eastern Cape Education Department is investigating a Matatiele primary school headmaster who concealed the alleged rape of a child by a teacher from the same school.
A mother’s worst nightmare came true when her seven-year-old daughter was allegedly raped by a teacher at school – and the principal told her to keep quiet about it.
The attack happened at Bergview College in Matatiele on 14 October. The young learner was waiting for transport when a teacher allegedly asked to send her somewhere, then raped her.
Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said they condemn the principal’s actions.
“We have instituted an investigation on the matter to test the allegations. The outcomes of the investigation will recommend legal steps to follow should there be preface evidence to the allegations,” said Mtima.
The child’s mother, who cannot be named to protect her daughter, said the girl came home late that day saying her transport was delayed.
The next morning, the mother noticed something was wrong. “I noticed that she looked sad, I asked her what was wrong and she said she was fine.”
That afternoon, the mother had come home early because her son was sick. “She had been wearing grey school pants, so when she walked in I noticed that her zipper was undone. I asked her about it and she didn’t respond; instead she went to her room to change.”
After supper, around 6pm, the child complained of stomach pain and went to the bathroom.
“She came back after 10 minutes saying that her backside was hurting. As a parent I thought maybe she was reacting to the meat we had earlier, so I gave her antidiarrheal. I then took her to sleep and told her to wake me up if it got worse.”
The next morning brought the terrible truth. “She said she woke up from the pain three times. So I took her to my room, so I could check what was so painful. I was shocked to see that her rectum was wide open, I called her father to come and see for himself,” the horrified mother said.
A doctor confirmed the rape. The parents then went to the police and a Thuthuzela Care Centre for rape victims.
But when the mother reported it to the school, the principal told her to stay quiet to protect the school’s reputation.
In the meantime, according to the education department, the child/victim has been visited and is receiving psycho-social support from the district and sister departments.
“We also had a multi-stakeholder meeting, where we explained that the position taken by the principal is not supported by the department,” Mtima said.
Though Bergview is an independent school with its own board, it gets money from the department.
“We are subsidising [the school]. Hence, we are intervening to ensure the process undertaken by the school to resolve the matter is fair and transparent,” Mtima added.
Eastern Cape police did not respond to questions.
Pictured above: Bergview College banner.
Source: Facebook
