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WENDY MOTHATA |
PARENTS at Hoërskool Jan Viljoen have called for equal treatment for all learners and equivalent diversity representatives at the school.
On Sunday, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi called for unity at the Hoërskool Jan Viljoen in the west of Johannesburg.
This comes after a violent incident that took place among black and white learners at the school last week.
Lesufi condemned a scuffle between the parents of Jan Viljoen that took place during a previously scheduled meeting, stating that parents must embrace a truly non-racial South Africa and set a good example for their children.
In his opening statement, Lesufi told parents of Hoërskool Jan Viljoen that the school is embarking on an important process of change and he encouraged the management team to decide to enable diversity in the school.
Lesufi informed the parents that an investigation will be conducted with the assistance of the South African Human Rights Commission, and further urged parents to protect their school.
The SAHRC has launched an investigation into alleged racially-motivated clashes between black and white learners at the school.
“The SAHRC will investigate everyone. There is an independent body who is going to investigate everyone and if they say act, I will act decisively, “said Lesufi.
Addressing the parents and school leadership of Hoërskool Jan Viljoen in Randfontein, Lesufi said, “our purpose is to ensure that we deliver quality education and save our children from the trauma of racism.”
The educators of the school indicated to Lesufi that they need support in managing diversity, and the school management team has risen to the task by actively working on appointing an ethnically diverse group of educators.
One of the parents attending the meeting has disagreed that the fight between black and white learners at Jan Viljoen was not racially motivated.
“I’m speaking on the behalf of parents, what happened, happed we can’t undo it and one thing that I’m 100% sure in my mind is that the incident was not racial. It was kids. This is kids attending a school, kids that want to learn, kids that want to become something in life. Yes, there is a lot of errors and I don’t decline it. Parents, please don’t make this thing a racial or political thing because this is not what it is. This is our kids, this is our school and our teachers. We want our kids to be safe it doesn’t matter the colour. We should stand together, let’s leave what is behind,” said the parent.
A parent to a Grade 11 learner, Nozipho Mabena said that the name of the school must be changed. Mabena pleaded for the protection of the learners at the school against incidents of racism.
The MEC further highlighted the issue of sexual harassment at the school which was raised by the learners. He told the parents that the teacher accused of sexually violating learners has been suspended.
“We thought we were coming to the school to deal with allegations of racism but were met with serious allegations of sexual harassment,” said Lesufi.
Lesufi urged parents to teach children to accept and embrace each other.
“Education starts at home. Let us teach our children from home to accept and embrace each other. If we don’t do that we will never achieve our dream of non-racial South Africa,” he said.
-Inside Education