This is the shocking accusation of Rose Nkumane (50) from Mofolo Village in Soweto. Thato Puoeng (13) – a grade 8 pupil in Joburg – hanged himself, allegedly after he couldn’t take what his teacher told him.
Rose claimed that Thato’s teacher called the boy evil because of a bead necklace he was wearing.
“She also told him the beads around his neck wouldn’t make him pass and that he was going to fail,” she said.
That allegedly led to Thato’s classmates mocking him and calling him names.
“On Monday Thato came back from school and told us that he had beaten one of his classmates for calling him names.
“He said we shouldn’t be surprised if we were called to the school.”
However, Rose said they were never called. She said that when Thato came back from school on Wednesday, he took a skipping rope and went to the back of the house. “He was found by his younger sister. He had a rope around his neck and was standing on top of a bucket,” said Rose.
When teachers came last week to request the family’s permission for a memorial service, Rose said she confronted Thato’s class teacher.
“When I asked her how could she say the things she said to the child, she didn’t say a thing and just left the house,” Rose said.
Gauteng Education spokeswoman Phumla Sekhonyane said: “The department has have been informed that there are allegations that might have led to the learner committing suicide.
“At this stage this matter remains an allegation. We would like to leave it to the relevant authorities to investigate it.”
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