Teacher suspended after outrage
A teacher from Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke in North West was suspended on Thursday following outrage over a picture she allegedly took of grade R pupils in her class being seated separately from their white classmates on their first day of school.
The announcement was made by the North West department of education during a meeting at the school after demonstrations by community and political groups.
The department said the teacher had been suspended with immediate effect.
TimesLIVE has learnt that an investigation into the school’s principal was also being carried out.
As scores of demonstrators turned up outside the school on Thursday to protest against the alleged segregation of pupils based on race‚ the school issued a statement claiming there was no racism or discrimination.
“A photo taken in a classroom of Schweizer-Reneke Primary is not a reflection of the true character of the school‚” the school’s governing body said in the statement.
The picture‚ which went viral on social media on Wednesday‚ showed four black grade R pupils on their first day of school seated at a desk placed at one end of the classroom‚ while 18 white children had been placed at a separate‚ longer table in the middle.
“Schweizer-Reneke Primary School is proud of its integrated character. The school’s ethos is built on inclusivity as a reflection of the broader South African society‚” school governing body chair Jozeph du Plessis said.
Explaining the picture‚ Du Plessis said it was a reflection of a “single moment”. He said the school did not tolerate racism.
“The governing body does not condone any distinction based on race. Learners from different backgrounds – including race‚ religion and language – are not merely accommodated but are fully integrated in all aspects of the school environment‚” he said.
The mother of one of the black pupils in the photograph earlier spoke to TimesLIVE‚ quashing earlier claims that the children had chosen their own seating positions.
“When I got to the class before school in the morning‚ all the children’s names were already written on the desks they were supposed to sit at. The labels had been put on their tables and their aprons.”
She said she did not immediately notice who had been placed next to her child as class had not yet begun.
“So everything they are saying is not true. We had expected the principal would give an excuse that they had put our children separately from the others because of language.
“Maybe they could have said that the children were more comfortable speaking to other children who spoke their own language and would later be integrated once they got comfortable – but they put it all on our children.”
Later‚ another picture of the same classroom surfaced.
It showed two of the white pupils sitting at the table that was previously occupied by the black children. Two black pupils had been moved to the larger table where the white children had been seated.
According to the parent, the change was made following complaints to the principal.
Du Plessis said the governing body would “support the school’s staff in aspects where transformation is not taking place as it should.
“The governing body is committed to transformation and to make a positive contribution to society.
“We will make sure that the necessary resources are available and that staff members have access to information and training.”
North West education MEC Sello Lehari visited the school on Thursday.
On Thursday morning, parents of both white and black pupils as well as political party members gathered outside the school.
A group of parents of white pupils drove over the school fence with their vehicles and took away their children, saying they were rescuing them from angry protesters.
One white parent said: “If you are not happy here, take your child to another school.”
Another parent said: “This is the only white-dominated school in this town. There are over 10 schools at the township. If they are not happy, let them take their children there.”
Black residents said they had been complaining about racism at the school for over a decade.–