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By Edwin Naidu
Racism is potentially one of the most pressing problems in South Africa, along with unemployment and poverty alleviation. It came as no surprise when the principal of Pretoria High School for Girls was deemed guilty of misconduct.
The investigation by the Gauteng education department found that Philipa Erasmus had failed in her obligations as a principal after she mishandled racism complaints from black pupils and wasn’t transparent in her process of dealing with such misdemeanors.
The report released earlier this month follows leaked WhatsApp messages in July, which sparked outrage countrywide. Unfortunately, discrimination continues to remain a challenge in South Africa’s classrooms three decades after democracy.
The episode of Ms Erasmus is just one recent example of racism that continues to rear its ugly head. But apart from putting her in the dock and making an example of the racism that exists in society, there is nothing done to lance the racism boil. How many other principals like Ms Erasmus continue to escape without having their racism addressed?
While it is evident people have not moved past their pre-1994 mindsets, education should do better to instill the values of the Constitution in teachers and learners. Three decades after the end of apartheid, racism should not be allowed to continue without addressing the problem. Expecting people to change their racist ways without education is a fault that lies with the architects of the Constitution. Where is education on the meaning of democracy?
South Africa boasts the best Constitution in the world. But it does not help when citizens are not living its values. Whether on the school grounds, public swimming pools or the heart and minds of citizens, racism remains a ticking time bomb.
For racism to be eradicated from our society, it must be stamped out in the classroom because it is evident that parents of South African children fail to help create a society that looks beyond colour. Are the teachers equipped to do this?
Many examples of work highlight the challenges of racism in South African schools.
One of the country’s foremost experts on local and global inequality and social justice issues in education is Professor Salim Vally, the Director for the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation at the University of Johannesburg.
In a well-researched journal article, Between the Vision of Yesterday and the Reality of Today: Forging a Pedagogy of Possibility, Vally discusses the vision of education for liberation during the anti-apartheid struggle.
After 1994, education activists expected the new political order to create a more equitable education system that met ordinary people’s needs. Sadly, it did not materialise.
Vally was part of the team researching racism, racial integration and desegregation commissioned by the SA Human Rights Commission at more than 100 schools.
The SAHRC report found many egregious instances of racism, but also that the shadow of apartheid ideology continued to cast its gloom, no longer through racially explicit policies, but by proxy and exclusions such as language restrictions, spatial segregation and high fees all related to social class.
What happens outside the school gates will inevitably affect the gains in schools.
Although the report recommended 10 critical, concrete and achievable interventions, they still need to be implemented.
Children in South Africa seem to get along far better than adults. Therefore, they should be taught the antidotes to racism, such as cross-group friendships/relationships, cultural appreciation and collective consciousness. These are more important than trigonometry for survival (in all senses of the word) to ensure that racists are held accountable for their despicable actions and racism stamped out in society.
Dealing with Ms Erasmus is important but tackling racism through education and teaching of the values in the Constitution would be a step in the right direction.
Edwin Naidu is Editor of Inside Education.
INSIDE EDUCATION