Elite high school faces backlash over disciplinary action

ELITE public school Maritzburg College is facing a public relations nightmare after it instituted disciplinary steps against three matriculants who expressed support for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) while in school uniform.

The three boys took a photo with one holding a shirt with the handwritten words: “EFF‚ our last hope of getting our land back.”

According to twitter pictures of the complaints‚ Maritzburg College has charged the matriculants with violating the schools act and told them they needed to appear before a disciplinary hearing.

The schools act prohibits “party specific activities at school during school time” and this includes campaigning‚ putting up posters or distributing political material.

The governing body of the college‚ commenting through lawyer Jaco van der Merwe‚ has confirmed the pending disciplinary hearing.

The photograph of the boys supporting the EFF went viral when former England cricketer and Maritzburg old boy Kevin Pietersen tweeted: “@KP24 Ummmmm‚ @MaritzCollege – WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? Total disrespect for a once GREAT school! Are you joking?!?!” [sic].

His tweet has received more than 990 comments‚ with hundreds of people criticising him.

Many on social media have supported the pupils’ right to freedom of speech and argued that pupils could have political opinions too.

Advocate Martin Williams tweeted that the Bill of Rights gives pupils the right to freedom of expression and political opinions.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education wanted a full-scale investigation into allegations of racism at Maritzburg College, the Sunday Times reported yesterday.

Provincial education spokesman’s Kwezi Mthethwa said an investigation had been launched and that the department was due to visit the school today.

The EFF slammed the school, saying it would support the pupils.

The party said the pupils were about to write matric exams.

“We reject this as pure apartheid‚ Nazi and colonial thinking on the part of the school,” the EFF said.

“In our democracy‚ there is no bylaw‚ rule or school code of conduct that must be inconsistent with our supreme law of the land‚ the constitution.

“Maritzburg High is in direct violation of the constitution. It is offending their [pupils] rights to freedom of expression. The school is dancing to white supremacist tunes‚ thus reproducing itself as hostile to our democratic order.

“The EFF wants to send a strong warning to Maritzburg High that we are ready to defend the democratic rights of our supporters. We demand it drops the charges,” it said.

Twitter users have noted that the Pietersen tweet had caused drama.

Mninawa Ntloko?@ntlokom tweeted: “This Kevin Pietersen has succeeded in turning this debacle into a PR nightmare for Maritzburg College! Now the whole country is watching.”

Pietersen was asked by Maritzburg College to delete the tweet, but refused to do so.

He appeared to be oblivious of the rage and was posting photos of himself enjoying the beaches in the Maldives. – TimesLIVE