‘Racist’ teachers, principal suspended

A Grade 9 pupil at the school was allegedly called a “baboon” and the k-word by a teacher during class last week.

The child’s mother, who then called the teacher, was allegedly also verbally abused during a phone conversation between the two.

In an audio clip released on Monday, the teacher is heard swearing at and insulting the parent, calling her a “stupid” and referring to her as a “baboon”.

The department said an investigating team would look at the circumstances that led to the alleged incidents and how the school management team had handled the matter, Mpumalanga News reported.

In the interim, the school’s deputy principal will be at the helm pending the results of the investigation.

The department added it would not tolerate any form of abuse and racism in schools.

In August last year, several pupils at Mondeor High School in Johannesburg accused the principal of telling black pupils they were “blackening the name of the school”.

The comment came after the school’s “Matric Day”, in which many pupils threw water in buckets and eggs at each other in an “annual tradition” to bid farewell to matriculants.

– Caxton News Service