The girl suffered bruises after being forced to move on her knees as punishment. (Photo: Michael Daniel).

A 7-year-old girl sustained injuries at a school in Juba’s Al-Baraka suburb after a teacher forced her to crawl between school fence and classroom several times as a punishment for unfinished homework, her mother said.

The third grade pupil has been unable to walk for days due to bruised legs and knees after moving on knees in the rough compound at High Scope School at Block 6 of Al-Baraka residential area.

The girl’s mother, whom we choose to identify by her first name as Betty, recalls the distressing incident which occurred on Thursday when her daughter returned home in pain and went hiding in her room.

When she noticed that the child was struggling to walk, Betty was concerned about her wellbeing and went inside to ask questions.

The girl revealed that her teacher, whose identity is withheld, allegedly forced her to move on her knees between the classroom and the school fence multiple times because she had not marked her homework.

“The little girl did not take the notebook to the teacher for marking at High Scope School in the Al-Baraka residential, so he asked to report her to the school for punishment,” the mother said.

“The teacher ordered them to walk on their knees around the school from the classroom to the school door several times, which caused her knee and leg injuries and prevented her from walking. She is now in pain and cannot walk normally.”

According to Betty, since the incident, her daughter has been in severe pain and has not managed to go back to school, adding that she is worried about the long-term impact of the traumatic experience.

The mother said she confronted the teacher and asked him to pay for her daughter’s medical treatment, adding that the teacher begged for forgiveness and said he will visit the injured minor.

“We went to the teacher on Friday to talk to the teacher and request treatment, but he said that he must come on Monday to look into the matter.  The teacher asked us to forgive him and said that it was a mistake on his part.”

She adds: “All we ask is that we find help in treating her, and after she recovers, she can return to school.”

Eye Radio tried to contact both the school administration and the teacher in question for comment but the efforts were not immediately successful.

According to the Teachers Code of Conduct 2012, the Ministry of Education in South Sudan explicitly prohibits physical punishment in schools, including acts such as caning or humiliation.

Teachers are required to use appropriate disciplinary methods and are not permitted to resort to violent discipline measures.