Top school to probe claims of racism
THERE will be an internal, independent investigation conducted into the allegations of racism at Durban Girls’ College.
Yesterday, Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu met the school’s management and board of directors after media reports of alleged incidents of racism at the school raised by former pupils surfaced on social media. They were sparked by an email sent out by the school’s head of student affairs about the death of American George Floyd who died after a police officer knelt on his neck during his arrest.
The email reads that while the school “abhors physical violence”, it cautioned that “your commitment to DGC and integrity must ensure that you use good judgement in your use of social media as you represent the school”. This led to a Facebook post from a 2016 matriculant, Melissa Ngcobo, who alleged that she had experienced racism while at the school.
This was followed by posts from other former pupils claiming to have been harassed by white teachers because of their hair.
With this social media storm came the birth of a petition started by old girl Thabisa Mangisa titled “Hold DGC accountable for racism”.
Mshengu said some of the school’s board members had formed a task team to look into how the school handled matters such as this.
“They have also appointed Dr Judy Dlamini, deputy director-general in the department, as a facilitator to talk to the girls who have raised the allegations and to help the school going forward, so that these incidents do not happen again,” said Mshengu.
He said the department called for an independent investigation into allegations of the past as well as those that were alleged to currently exist.
The MEC said they agreed that the school’s board would conduct an independent investigation. He said the team would also use the situation to formulate a case study that would assist other schools in the province.
Principal Marianne Bailey said the school was committed to constructively moving forward.
“It’s also encouraging to know that we can work with the department. This is not just about Durban Girls’ College, it’s about humanity and society.”