Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has expresses concern over school racism incident
BRAAMFONTEIN – The DA wants an investigation into an alleged racist incident where a teacher reportedly told pupils that black people were stupid for voting for the ANC at the National School of Arts in Braamfontein.
UPDATE: 11am, 4 June 2014 –
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has expressed its concern over the alleged racist incident, highlighting that their concern was not only the racist views that were allegedly expressed, but the fact that the teacher taught Grade 8 History.
Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Neeshan Balton said, “History, and the understanding and teaching thereof, is a key component of interpreting our past and the current processes of change. If a history teacher – who one would assume has sufficient knowledge of the horrors of racism and apartheid – makes such comments, then we should be gravely concerned.”
Balton, also commended the pupil who reportedly informed her mother about the incident, for taking a stand. “This is the type of courage that is needed to combat the scourge of racism in our society. Young people should not accept it if a teacher expresses discriminatory views in a classroom. It should not be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
UPDATE: 09:30am, 4 June 2014 –
The National School of Arts has released a statement declaring their intention to get to the bottom of the matter.
This came after the school was in the spotlight when a history teacher at the Braamfontein school was reported to have made negative racial comments about black people and the ANC.
“We are taking this allegation extremely seriously and have commenced an internal investigation,” said chairperson of the school’s governing body Brenda Sakellarides, in the statement.
“Should the allegation prove true, appropriate steps will be taken. We will not tolerate even a hint of racism in our school.”
Initial report: The DA in Gauteng said it had written to the South African Human Rights Commission to investigate the alleged incident at the prestigious school.
The Star reported that a pupil had allegedly sent an SMS to her mother, which read: “I just wanted to tell you that [History teacher] has gone out of hand, first she called black people demons then she said the reason why government is so bad because black people… and black people are stupid for voting ANC.”
DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Education Khume Ramulifho said, “Teachers have a responsibility to educate learners on how to redress the past imbalances perpetuated by the apartheid government. The school environment must be conducive for learning to both learners and teachers.”
However, upon investigation, the Rosebank Killarney Gazette spoke to a Grade eight pupil who was in the history class on the day of the incident.
The pupil said the teacher was referring to a biblical story during the lesson and alleged her comments had been taken out of context.
“She never mentioned… that South Africa wasn’t successful because it was led by black people. When I read [the news reports] I was shocked. That teacher is not racist,” said the pupil
Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane said the matter had been brought to their attention and an independent investigation had been launched, she also noted that the teacher had been appointed by the school governing body and not the department.
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