Advocate asked to explain how single religion at schools is not discriminatory

IF one majority religion is practised in school assemblies‚ then any pupils who ask to miss the assembly are forced to say they are different.

This was the issue posed yesterday by high court judges hearing a case on religion in schools.

Advocate Johan du Toit SC was pressed on this in the Johannesburg High Court as he defended six Afrikaans schools’ right to promote a Christian ethos‚ including Bible readings at assembly.

In 2014‚ Stellenbosch resident Hans Pietersen SC applied to have these six schools interdicted from being Christian state-funded schools with Christian prayers‚ songs and logos.

He argued that the single religious nature was unconstitutional and discriminatory to pupils who were not Christian‚ breaching minority pupils’ rights of diversity and equality.

The schools named in the court case are Laerskool Randhart‚ Laerskool Baanbreker‚ Laerskool Garsfontein‚ Hoërskool Linden – all in Gauteng – and two Oudtshoorn schools‚ Hoërskool Oudtshoorn and Langenhoven Gimnasium.

But lawyers defending the schools have asked that the judgment pertain to every school in the country.

The Federation of Governing Bodies of SA schools (Fedsas) is representing the schools.

Its advocate, Du Toit, was pressed yesterday by all three judges to explain how a single religion did not automatically discriminate against and exclude other pupils and thus undermine their constitutional right to equality.

Judge Collin Lamont said: “The whole point to open up and rejoice in diversity is not to perpetuate ring-fenced groups.”

The judges questioned how some of the suburbs in which the schools were had come to be white and Afrikaans only.

Du Toit conceded white-only suburbs were a result of South Africa’s history.

But he said it was not the governing body’s fault if it had to make rules that reflected a school’s religious interests.

The schools allow pupils of other religions or secular pupils to miss Christian assembly.

Lamont pointed out: “By creating a system at school and requiring them [pupils] to opt out [ of assembly]‚ you require that person to say I am different. “How is that not a violation of other issues [rights] in the constitution?’

Fedsas chief executive Paul Colditz said: “Each system is exclusionary.

“If you make a school become secular‚ it is discriminatory against learners who want a Christian or Muslim school.

“If you have a Muslim or Christian school‚ it is discriminatory against those who want a secular school.”

The cases continues.