It
is being reported that the teacher who was suspended after a photo of Laerskool
Schweizer-Reneke Grade R pupils, seemingly separated on the basis of their
race, has left the town.
Netwerk24
is reporting that the woman and her family didn't feel safe after a storm
erupted over the photograph.
Protesters
– many wearing EFF regalia – made their way onto the premises on Thursday
morning while North West Education MEC Sello Lehari was visiting the school.
Lehari
later announced that the teacher had been suspended.
Netwerk24
noted that the woman was severely traumatised.
While
the school's governing body said it was technically open, many parents kept
their children at home on Friday.
The
photo was posted on social media on Wednesday – the first day of the 2019
academic year – and soon became the centre of debate on racism and race
relations, both in Schweizer-Reneke and South Africa at large.
On
Thursday, more photos emerged, seemingly from the same set, and they showed the
pupils sitting together.
Many
parents have defended the teacher, saying she loved all of her pupils.
Meanwhile,
parents of black pupils claimed their children have in the past complained
about being called klein swartetjies (loosely translated as little blacks).
Most
of them spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing their children would be
victimised.
The
black parents said they wanted their children to get the best possible education
in the Afrikaans-medium school and didn't have problems with the school's
policy.
The
school is the only primary school in town, while there are other schools in the
nearby Ipelegeng township.
However,
they felt the school should transform and encourage pupils to love one another
regardless of race and gender.
Among
the parents, was a couple whose child was among those who were seated with
other black children in the first photo released.
The
father said when he arrived at the school on Wednesday morning, he found black
pupils seated behind the door and he asked why this was the case.
"The
teacher told me that she separated children because she wanted them to know
each other according to their skin colour. The teacher then said the separation
was a temporary thing and later during the day, she will integrate them and
allow them to mix.
"When
I arrived to fetch my son in the afternoon, the situation was the same. I then
enquired again and didn't get any answer," he said.
The
father said he was shocked when the picture went viral.
"Why
should our children be separated by their race? I want my child to continue
studying here and I don't have a problem with [him] learning Afrikaans. I was
told from the beginning that the school offers Afrikaans as a medium of
instruction and didn't have problems with that.
"All
I want is for my child to have a better future," he said.
Another
parent said in most cases, teachers weren't too blame.
"My
child claims that he is being ill-treated by white children in the school. He
complains that white children refuse to play with blacks and call them klein
swartetjies. My child doesn't know what racism is. He told me that teachers are
treating them well, but the problem was among white children. I feel that some
white parents are teaching their children at a young age to hate blacks in
school," she said.
The
South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) in the province said it was
disturbed and perplexed by allegations of racism in the school.
"It
is our firm view that schools, through its education ethos, have the role to
instil values of dignity, respect, equality and tolerance for our learners.
"The
union cannot be silent when there is a gross violation of rights of learners to
receive equal treatment and education. Acts or practice of racism have no place
in our society and cannot be tolerated 24 years into our democracy," read
the union's statement.
The
union called on the North West education department to extensively investigate
these allegations and to extend the probe to other parts of the province.
The
South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) visited the school and met with
Lehari and his team at the school on Thursday.
SAHRC
spokesperson Gail Smith said the commission would work closely with the
department to investigate the allegations.
"Concurrent
to this investigation, the provincial department of education will establish a
task team to deal with transformation at the school and has invited the
commission to participate in the task team.
"The
commission is deeply concerned that instances of discrimination and related
intolerance continue to take place within the school system. Schools are
platforms for teaching and learning – not only a formal curriculum – but also
fundamental value systems. While this trend in schools remains highly
concerning, we should take this as an opportunity to engage on transformation
and foster greater awareness," said Smith.
About dimas
Hi, My Name is Hafeez. I am a webdesigner, blogspot developer and UI designer. I am a certified Themeforest top contributor and popular at JavaScript engineers. We have a team of professinal programmers, developers work together and make unique blogger templates.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar