A school girl is in severe pain and unable to speak after her tongue was bitten off this week in a fight with another school girl.
Gauteng education spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane said the attacker had been served with a suspension letter for seven school days and would face a disciplinary hearing on 16 September.
“As soon as the victim recovers fully, she will return to the class and a catch-up programme is already in place to make up for the lost time,” Sekhonyane said.
“Department psychologists will be dispatched to the family of the victim to offer counselling and to assess possibilities of diverting the learner to a special school, should her speech be a challenge as the victim is currently unable to speak.”
Police spokesperson Constable Hlekani Mathebula said: “The two girls aged 17 had a fight outside the school where one girl’s tongue was bitten off.”
The victim was taken to hospital while the other girl was arrested and charged with assault with intent to cause a grievous bodily harm. She said the girl would appear in the Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court.
This happened at Ubuhle-Bezwe Junior School in Block G at Soshanguve on Monday. School principal at Ubuhle-Bezwe confirmed the fight, but declined to offer further comment. Ubuhle-Bezwe is a no-fee intermediate public school with about 233 pupils.
Random police searches at Soshanguve schools in a bid to curb violence and criminality were meanwhile continuing.
On Wednesday, searches at Kutung Primary School and Baleseng Secondary school in Block L yielded dagga, dangerous weapons such as knives, and stolen items.
“These primary school kids steal from each other. They steal money, lunch boxes and backpacks. We also discovered that they had girlfriends at that early age and it causes concern to us.” Mathebula said some of the pupils somehow got wind of the random searches and got rid of illegal items beforehand.
“In most cases we find dagga rolling papers, knives, sharp mirrors at the back of the classrooms and no one wants to take responsibility for them.”
The searches were triggered by the death of a grade 11 pupil who was stabbed in an apparent knife fight at Central Secondary school in Soshanguve. Thapelo Given Selala was stabbed to death on school premises in August.
Sekhonyane said education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, had identified pupil discipline as one of the priorities of the department.
“Plans are afoot to establish a permanent Learner Tribunal to assist the MEC in matters relating to school based violence, gangsterism, drug abuse, cyber bullying and other related serious misdemeanours.”
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Also read: Soshanguve girl loses tongue in a fight
Grade 11 pupil stabbed to death
