Behaviour that belongs in a bygone era

SOUTH AFRICA is generally a dynamic country which is open and, for the most part, tolerant, but in small pockets there’s an increasing resistance.

Our strength as South Africans comes from our diversity.

But if you have been following events at schools like Rustenburg Girls’ Junior, in Cape Town, and Jeppe Girls’ School in Johannesburg, one might be mistaken for thinking that these institutions were located in a bygone era.

Jeppe Girls was recently in the news because the school had threatened disciplinary action against pupils who wore the hijab with their school uniform. While the school had tolerated the modest Islamic dress, it sought to “other” the girls by not allowing them to wear it with their school uniform.

Threatened with legal action, the school backed down, and hopefully common sense will soon prevail.

In Cape Town, which often models itself on a non-existent European city, Rustenburg Girls’ Junior seemingly wants to be dragged kicking and screaming into the New South Africa.

The school grabbed headlines at the weekend when it was reported that its only black teacher was forced to resign after her abilities were questioned, never mind that she had been a former pupil at the school and that she had graduated from the University of Cape Town.

The SGB … should collectively hang its head in shame for entrenching systemic racism

Now, Parents for Change of Rustenburg Girls’ Junior School have voiced their concerns over the school’s poor track record of transformation and promoting diversity.

When Nozipho Mthembu was forced to resign from the school in September after being threatened with disciplinary action, the school sent out a racist message to the handful of black learners – they should never aspire to be teachers at the school, for their competence would come under the microscope.

The school governing body of Rustenburg Girls’ Junior should collectively hang its head in shame for its actions, entrenching the sort of systemic racism which is toxic, especially when shaping the minds of young children.