Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Prefects demand apology for racial slur
A PUPIL found guilty of racism at a Stellenbosch school has allegedly gone unpunished while her three victims long for justice.
Three 17-year-old girls in Grade 11 at Stellenzicht Secondary School say they were called the K-word by a fellow 17-year-old pupil. They are class prefects and say four teachers heard when they were racially abused by the fellow pupil.
The incident happened last month and a letter seen by the Weekend Argus said the pupil was found guilty of racism. Her sanction was to apologise to the Xhosa-speaking pupils.
“A public apology to the teachers who were humiliated in the disciplinary hearing, the perpetrator must enter into a rehabilitation programme pertaining to how to live/study with others,” reads the letter. It adds that the title of class monitor will be taken from the pupil and a final warning will be issued.
The pupils say they were collecting chairs from pupils when they were racially abused. They say they immediately reported the incident and a disciplinary hearing was held where the pupil was found guilty. “We were told she would be suspended immediately,” said one pupil.
“The following day she returned and said she was not accepting the suspension and will open a case against the deputy principal.”
The pupil said that after the disciplinary hearing, all they wanted her to do was apologise and show remorse. “Her mother agreed that she will apologise but the father kept on defending his child. We are hurting because she is roaming around the school and showing no remorse. The school has to take strong action against racism.”
Another pupil said the accused pupil did not follow the sanctions: “She is taking this lightly, she gave us a cold apology at the back of the staffroom then laughed. We left her there and we want her gone from the school.”
Zodwa Mntalane, mother of one of the victims, said the school seemed powerless and had no clue how to deal with the matter. “The pupils have been with the school since Grade 8 and this has never happened before. The teachers who witnessed this are on our side and want this matter addressed. It was decided that if the pupil fails to abide by the sanctions, the matter will be reported to the Western Cape Education Department, with a request that the child be expelled.
“We want to take this matter to the WCED on our own if the school fails to do so and our children want to open a criminal case against the learner.”
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said: “The school has reported that the learner did apologise in terms of the sanction. Should there be dissatisfaction with the apology, this can be addressed with school management.”