A teacher allegedly called an overweight pupil in the school an ‘elephant’, the parents of the 10-year-old removed him from the school, after refusing to accept the teacher apology.

The boy used to attend Panorama Primary School in the Western Cape. Reports state that the teacher targetted a group of boys playing in a corridor, saying: “If you behave like monkeys and elephants, then you all belong in the zoo.” According to the boy’s parents, the teacher turned her gaze to their son when she said ‘elephants’.

Both the teacher and the school’s principal defended the actions of the teacher by stating that the remark was not directed at the Grade 4 pupil, but at the whole group of boys.

TimesLIVE reported that the horrible incident occurred on 4 May, and the 10-year-old’s parents lodged a complaint with both the school and the provincial Education Department on 7 May and 13 May.

The mother of the little boy stated that after he was insulted by the teacher, he sat at his desk in tears. She went on to say that her son then refused to play rugby at school, and he had a significant drop in his marks. She added that he was known as an ‘elephant’ by peers, thus making break times unbearable.

According to Science Daily, boys’ mental health tends to be more affected if they are obese.

There is a considerably higher risk for bullying in overweight kids, which could result in the development of depressive symptoms.