Parent stabs Eldorado teacher with screwdriver
Jeanette DiergaardtWINDHOEK
After allegedly slapping a learner, a teacher from Eldorado Secondary School was stabbed with a screwdriver by the child’s disgruntled parent.The victim - identified only as Mr Kalola by the head of department of languages, Rachel Dedig - is considered to be stable and recovering at home.
“Mr Kalola is very disturbed. His condition psychologically and mentally is not stable,” she added.
Teachers at the school feel unsafe and are equally traumatised by the incident, Dedig said.
The ministry of education, arts and culture will launch an investigation into the matter to understand the events that transpired before the incident.
“We have advised the school to open a case. We will conduct a full investigation,” Knox Imbuwa, the ministry’s deputy executive director, said, adding that they are treating the matter as a criminal case that requires police involvement.
Stricter security
According to Imbuwa, the affected teacher will be receiving counselling on the matter, while security measures at the school will be heightened. Random security checks will also be conducted on learners, he said.
On the day of the incident, 30 March, the Namibian Broadcasting Cooperation (NBC) reported that weapons were found in the bags of learners as well.
“At this point in time, we were caught off guard. We will be implementing random searches at schools by engaging with the police,” Imbuwa said.
Not the first time
The Khomas Region chairperson of the Namibian National Teachers Union (Nantu), Kevin Kahungi, alleged that the stabbing is not the first at the school, but the third of its kind.
“We condemn such practices and such behaviour from parents,” he said.
According to him, the parent who stabbed the teacher has five other children enrolled at Eldorado, and teachers are demanding the directorate to remove these learners from the school.
“If the learners are here on Monday, teachers will sit in the staffroom until their demands are heard,” he said.
Teachers have various other demands, but these have not been shared with the media as the ministry has not been informed yet.
According to Kahungi, the victim has not received any support from the ministry.
“Mr Kalola is at home, but he hasn’t received any support from the ministry. The directors should be on the ground,” he added. Kahungi further questioned the capability of school security guards.
“The security system at schools, are they [the guards] trained or are they only trained to open and close gates?”
After allegedly slapping a learner, a teacher from Eldorado Secondary School was stabbed with a screwdriver by the child’s disgruntled parent.The victim - identified only as Mr Kalola by the head of department of languages, Rachel Dedig - is considered to be stable and recovering at home.
“Mr Kalola is very disturbed. His condition psychologically and mentally is not stable,” she added.
Teachers at the school feel unsafe and are equally traumatised by the incident, Dedig said.
The ministry of education, arts and culture will launch an investigation into the matter to understand the events that transpired before the incident.
“We have advised the school to open a case. We will conduct a full investigation,” Knox Imbuwa, the ministry’s deputy executive director, said, adding that they are treating the matter as a criminal case that requires police involvement.
Stricter security
According to Imbuwa, the affected teacher will be receiving counselling on the matter, while security measures at the school will be heightened. Random security checks will also be conducted on learners, he said.
On the day of the incident, 30 March, the Namibian Broadcasting Cooperation (NBC) reported that weapons were found in the bags of learners as well.
“At this point in time, we were caught off guard. We will be implementing random searches at schools by engaging with the police,” Imbuwa said.
Not the first time
The Khomas Region chairperson of the Namibian National Teachers Union (Nantu), Kevin Kahungi, alleged that the stabbing is not the first at the school, but the third of its kind.
“We condemn such practices and such behaviour from parents,” he said.
According to him, the parent who stabbed the teacher has five other children enrolled at Eldorado, and teachers are demanding the directorate to remove these learners from the school.
“If the learners are here on Monday, teachers will sit in the staffroom until their demands are heard,” he said.
Teachers have various other demands, but these have not been shared with the media as the ministry has not been informed yet.
According to Kahungi, the victim has not received any support from the ministry.
“Mr Kalola is at home, but he hasn’t received any support from the ministry. The directors should be on the ground,” he added. Kahungi further questioned the capability of school security guards.
“The security system at schools, are they [the guards] trained or are they only trained to open and close gates?”
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