Parents slam coverage
A PETITION is in circulation among Rustenburg Girls’ Junior School (RGJS) parents and others who support the belief that the media has portrayed the school and its School Governing Body (SGB) in a biased and unfair manner.
The petition says those who add their name to it will show support for the school and express their belief that RGJS and the SGB are acting in the best interest of all current and future pupils.
“Sadly, recent media attention has resulted in the negative portrayal of RGJS. By adding your name you are showing your support for RGJS and… its transformation drive and its desire to become more inclusive of all.
“If you would like to provide a message, we will pass this on to the school and the SGB.
“Neither your comments, your name nor your contact details will be sent to the media. This is simply a record of support to the school as it endeavours to embrace change, diversity and inclusivity, as best it can,” the petition said.
The school made headlines recently after a group calling itself “Parents for Change” lifted the lid on two years of struggle to implement transformation policies and the alleged inaction of the provincial education department and school officials.
The parents spoke out following a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration process, where teacher Nozipho Mthembu said she was unfairly discriminated against and asked to resign or face a disciplinary hearing for reasons she had yet to be informed about.
Mthembu was the school’s first black African teacher and a former pupil.
She was told some parents questioned her competence and were unhappy she was teaching their children, she said.
One child apparently asked: “Are black teachers real teachers?”
This week, emails emerged in which the school appeared to have suggested a black pupil would not fit in there, after a couple reached out and offered to pay for all 12 years of the Khayelitsha girl’s fees.
Among concerns cited in an email to the donors in 2015 was that “friendships at school often result in play dates, which can also become tricky because of the distance in travel, and result in a child feeling isolated and excluded”.
Parents for Change said the petition demonstrated a resistance to change and a desperate attempt to retain the status quo.
Former SGB member and chairperson of Department of Education Policy Studies at Stellenbosch University, Nuraan Davids said it was unclear who initiated the petition.
“This is concerning, as it is yet another example of the lack of transparency, which has become endemic to RGJS. (It) reveals a desperate attempt to retain the status quo, one of exclusion and marginalisation, and disregard for the necessity of schools to reflect and cultivate the principles and values of a democratic South Africa.”
She said it reflected the mentality of “as long as my child is OK, everything else is OK”.
The petition afforded no attention to issues of inclusion, belonging and transformation or issues that had brought the school to the position it was in. It also failed to address the importance of social justice in education, she said.