Mob violence, protests won’t fix ills in schools
IT IS sad to think that in 2017, we are still being plagued by the issue of racism – that people in our rainbow nation still see the colour of a person’s skin, rather than the person.
Last year, KwaZulu-Natal schools appeared to be plagued by violence, with a number of reports of violence appearing in the media. It now seems that schools are struggling with the issue of racism.
In June, a Grade 11 pupil from Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School was suspended after circulating a racist rant in a WhatsApp voice note. Shortly after this incident, it was revealed that a Maritzburg College prefect had been suspended, following a disciplinary hearing, for using the k-word. It took the school four months to report the incident to the KZN Department of Education.
During the past week, we have seen pupils of George Campbell School of Technology take matters into their own hands. Pupils brought the school to a standstill amid allegations of racism by teachers.
Racism, whether by a pupil or a staff member, is unacceptable, but one has to wonder whether the pupils at George Campbell had the right to take matters into their own hands.
The matter is being investi- gated by the uMlazi education district office, and is receiving the necessary attention. The unrest at the school is akin to the student protests during the #FeesMustFall campaign, with protesting pupils barricading entrances and threatening teachers, and the need for a police presence at the school.
Is this how South Africans now deal with issues they are not happy with?
In a WhatsApp voice note that was circulated at the weekend, clear threats were made against the principal, deputy principal and any teacher or pupil who tried to protect the alleged racist(s).
Listening to the voice note raised a number of questions.
Is violence an answer in this situation? Who is protecting the rights of the other pupils to receive an education? Who has accepted the responsibility for the safety of pupils and staff at the school while the protests continue? Why are parents allowing their children to behave in such a manner?
Our children need to be taught that mob justice, protests and violence are not the way to seek or obtain justice. Mob justice not only creates a more volatile situation, but carries the risk of endangering lives, and often results in vandalism.
It violates one’s right to a safe working environment and it violates the pupils’ right to an education. Mob justice creates a false sense of power and belief that it will resolve the issue. But it never does.
The numerous service delivery protests are an example of this – mob justice has not resulted in better service delivery or better living conditions for the thousands who take part. Just as the student protests did not result in free higher education.
The protests at George Campbell have resulted in the loss of valuable teaching time. The Grade 12s begin their trial exams soon, and can ill-afford to lose teaching time. Who will they blame should they not be ready for the exams?
Teachers fear for their safety at the school and were advised to report to the district office or police station instead of their workplace. Is this really how we, as South Africans, handle situations we don’t like?
It is time our youth learn that mob justice, violence and protests only worsen the situation and won’t resolve anything.
Joseph Fort Newton once said: “Men build too many walls, and not enough bridges.”
It is time that we start building bridges, rather than the walls of protest that divide us.
Leann Roos is Provincial Secretary of the SA Teachers’ Union