FIX RACISM, OR ELSE…
Girls High pupils vow to take action if report calling for change is ignored
PUPILS at Pretoria High School for Girls yesterday vowed to take authorities to task if recommendations in the report on racism at the school are not implemented.
Girls told the Pretoria News they were prepared to move on for now, but would adopt a wait-and-see approach.
“I endured five long years of discrimination at that school and hope that the report will provide justice to the next generation,” a matric pupil said.
Another pupil praised Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi for taking a firm stand against racism at Girls High and said she hoped things would be better for future girls as a result.
“I hope that pupils will hold the teachers, MEC (Lesufi) and the school governing body accountable if they don’t stick to the report’s recommendations.”
The report, released on Friday night by Lesufi, found teachers at the school had been insensitive and unresponsive to claims of racism by teachers.
The report was commissioned by Lesufi in August after allegations of racism in implementing hair policies at the school surfaced.
The report found the school guilty of racism, and confirmed that allegations made by pupils were true. It found black pupils had been singled out in a class to demonstrate ethnic origins during apartheid and that in one instance, black pupils were told they were monkeys.
The pupils also complained that there were rules against using their mother tongue in private conversations. However, this could not be substantiated apart from one incident between a teacher and pupils.
The report recommended disciplinary action against teachers where there was sufficient evidence of wrongdoing. In addition, it said the practice of asking black pupils to “sort out their hair” must cease with immediate effect.
The school apologised for the racial abuse and victimisation of black pupils shortly after the release of the report, which has been sent to Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga.
“We want to be corrective rather than punitive‚” Lesufi said of the recommendations‚ which include diversity training and a culture survey to independently establish pupils’ attitudes and experiences. He had held onto the report until exams were finished so as not to cause further upset for the girls.
Parents have pulled no punches in voicing their opinions shortly after the report was made public, with some saying the girls’ accounts affirmed yet again that failure to address structural racism and sexism perpetuated white supremacy.
“It is evident from the report’s findings that the code of conduct in schools need to be reviewed,” according to one parent.
Another said the report was a step in the right direction, but a lot of work still needed to be done to root out racism that prevailed at the school. “A report with findings and recommendations will only just scratch the surface.”
“The racism is deep-seated and it will take more than just recommendations; people need to change their attitudes for racism to end,” she said, adding that white educators needed to learn how to deal with black pupils.
The report was well received across various sectors of society and the political sphere. The DA praised Lesufi and the school governing body for the manner in which it had dealt with the issue.
Party spokesman for education Khume Ramulifho said the DA welcomed the release of the report. “Lesufi must be congratulated for his even-handed handling of this issue. The school governing body must also be congratulated for agreeing to abide by the recommendations as set out by the report.
“Racism has no place in society, especially not in places of learning. It is important that all of us work together to help build a truly united, non-racial South Africa,” the DA said.
James Tubb, a member of the school governing body, said they acknowledged the issues raised in the report and took them seriously.
“To the pupils who have been treated unfairly in a manner unbecoming of our school, and society in general which has been harmed by these events, we offer our sincere apology – unconditionally so. We will ensure that intolerance and racism, where found to still exist, are eradicated,” he said.
Tubb added they would study the report further and implement the recommendations that had been made.
THERE are lessons for society in general and schools in particular from the outcome of the probe into Pretoria High School for Girls following the widely-publicised hair protests of August.
The report of the Gauteng Department of Education released on Friday by Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi found that there were incidents at the school in which girls were treated in an insensitive, demeaning and racist way, and that the school had been unresponsive to their complaints.
Staff fingered for racist actions and victimisation of black girls will face disciplinary action, but the lesson for all in authority is that such complaints – especially when they involve children – must be heard, and acted upon.
As Lesufi indicated, however, the fact that the school failed to act does not mean there is no hope. Rather, he acknowledges that Girls High is a leading school and one whose reputation should be protected.
As with a Curro school where racism was reported, he plans to use the opportunity and the publicity to turn a negative into a positive, and through interventions which rebuild trust and respect to make Girls High an example that other schools can emulate.
Lesufi stepped in swiftly to take charge of the situation before it got out of control, and the school has shown a willingness to show remorse and apologise to those who were harmed, and to co-operate with the education authorities for change.
Girls High was founded in 1902, according to its first headmistress “in the earnest hope that here girls of different races and different denominations might meet in that commonwealth of letters which gave Erasmus and Shakespeare to the world”.
While for many years it was a whites-only school, today it needs to live according to its founding principle and it, and every other school in the city, should be proactive in ensuring that intolerance and racism are eradicated.
Yes, there must be discipline at schools, but it needs to be enforced in a dignified way. Yes, teachers have difficult subject matter to cover in class, but they must teach in a sensitive way. Let’s treat one another with humanity; don’t allow prejudice to determine how we behave.