AfriForum decries political interference in Pretoria High School for Girls racism probe

AfriForum has accused Gauteng Education of undermining the SGB at Pretoria High School for Girls after it announced a fresh racism probe.

Lobby group AfriForum says the Gauteng Department of Education’s announcement that it will launch an independent investigation at Pretoria High School for Girls to determine whether a culture of racism prevails at the school is a conspicuous attempt to undermine the authority of the school’s governing body.

This comes as 12 learners were suspended for alleged racism. Due to a lack of solid evidence, the learners were cleared of wrongdoing following a disciplinary hearing. Despite this outcome, the principal, Phillipa Erasmus, remains suspended.

AFRIFORUM REJECTS FRESH RACISM PROBE AT PRETORIA HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, Alana Bailey, said these events have proven anew that some education authorities have an agenda against governing bodies.

Bailey said that while the BELA draft law is still being passed before the president, incidents like this are being blown up to create the impression that democratically elected governing bodies are enemies of quality education and the rights of learners.

“What makes it even worse is that the events occur when matriculants are preparing for their exams and are already exposed to extreme pressure.”

Gauteng Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said they respect the outcome of the disciplinary hearing as the SGB’s authority is enshrined in the South African Schools Act of 1996.

“Therefore, the Gauteng Department of Education cannot interfere with the outcome as SGBs are empowered by law to initiate disciplinary hearings against learners,” he said.

Regarding the independent investigation, Mabona said they will not investigate the 12 learners but allegations that racism exists in the school.

“This decision is further motivated by the fact that the report of the SGB’s ruling makes no mention of racism or discrimination against learners, whereas there has been a strong presumption of the existence of such at the school,” Mabona explained.

ALLEGED POLITICAL ATTEMPTS TO DISCREDIT SGBs

AfriForum also condemned any political interference in schools and attempts to discredit legitimate actions by governing bodies.

“Apart from this incident, we are hearing more about governing bodies being pressured by provincial education authorities to change Afrikaans schools’ language policy. Furthermore, the authorities do not build sufficient schools, and the governing bodies are unfairly blamed by parents when children do not get a place in schools. Departments also take a long time to investigate complaints from governing bodies,” Bailey said.

“Instead of treating these community representatives like valued partners, they are often made the scapegoats for the education departments’ failures. With the drafting of the BELA draft law, this hostility has already been made clear, and incidents like the one at the girls’ school only make the agenda even more visible. The misuse of learners as political pawns in the authorities’ powerful actions and pursuits is unacceptable,” she emphasised.

SOURCE:AfriForum decries political interference in Pretoria High School for Girls racism probe (thesouthafrican.com)