School told us ‘no fros’ – pupils
A PETITION sent via e-mail to Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi by Pretoria Girls High has uncovered incidents of alleged racism meted against black pupils at the school.
So chaotic is the matter that the situation nearly boiled over on Friday with police and security officials called to the school and threatening the pupils with arrest. This resulted in Lesufi having to rush to the school this morning to try calm the situation as the pupils are preparing to write their preliminary exams.
Speaking to The Star this morning, Lesufi said he received a petition signed by 259 black pupils at the school in which they detailed how they were on the receiving end of racism at the school.
Lesufi said among other things, the pupils said they were being discriminated against because of the texture of their hair.
“They claim they were told to straighten their hair,” he said.
Lesufi said the pupils also claim that if they are walking in groups of more than two, they are stopped.
“They said they are told that they are planning to destabilise the school if they are in groups. I don’t really understand how because this is a school and there will be lots of groups.”
The other complaint by the pupils was that they were not allowed to speak other languages except for English.
“I am not sure if all these are true that is why I said ‘let me go and check’,” Lesufi said.
The matter has also seen Twitter exploding with the hashtag #Stop Racism At Pretoria Girl High trending this morning.