The Save South Africa Civic Movement has accused the principal of Pretoria High School for Girls of negligence and encouraging racial discrimination at the school following her suspension by the department.
The movement said the principal as a leader of the school failed in her duties, with all the power vested in her to lead and protect the learners.
“We therefore call for the removal of the principal since she is a thorn to the black children at Pretoria High School for Girls. This removal will send a strong message to all the racist principals and staff across the country.
“Save South Africa Civic will not support nor protect an individual who uses her power to degrade a black child. We will not stand on the side of those who try to bring the painful past through the back door.
“We are saying the principal of Pretoria High School for Girls must be removed immediately as to restore and boast the confidence of those black learners who were affected by this barbaric act of discrimination,” the organisation’s spokesperson, Tebogo Mashilompane, said on Thursday.
Mashilompane said the organisation would not tolerate adults, especially, educators whose duty was among others to teach children to respect all persons irrespective of their colour or gender.
The organisation further rejected what it called the “popcorn solution” by the Gauteng Department of Education.
“Though MEC Matome Chiloane might have meant well in his approach of ‘diversity and cohesion programme’, we are of a strong view that such approach is not sustainable since racism is not only taking place at the school.
“The right approach and solution to this issue, is that racism must form part of the curriculum in the true sense of the word, not the Life Orientation way where racism is just defined and left there.
“Racism is what caused to a certain extent a black nation to lose some of its identity, and be, treated as slaves. It is the British who actually designed this monster and its furtherance was done by the Afrikaners in the late 1940s.”
Mashilompana said on July 24, they issued a statement condemning the incident of racism committed by “white learners” at Pretoria High School for Girls.
Furthermore, he said in their statement they categorically stated that children were taught to be racist, because they believed that there was no child, especially born after 1994, would focus on hating fellow learners because of the colour of their skin.
“We emphasise that such is because of a learnt practice either, from home or from other adults who still see black people as slaves and subhuman.
“Therefore, we are not going to fold our arms as the ruling has done for the past 30 years. We are going to fight racism now and it ends with us now,” he emphasised.
The Pretoria High School for Girls principal was placed on precautionary suspension for 90 days pending an investigation into allegations that learners’ complaints to her were ignored.
The principal’s suspension was announced during a visit to the school on Tuesday by Education MEC Chiloane.
He said the suspension would take effect immediately.
The principal has been barred from communicating with pupils, teachers and parents.
One of the deputy principals will stand in as acting principal.
“While we are still busy with the disciplinary process, we have taken the decision to suspend the principal of the school until we have concluded this matter. We have appointed the deputy principal in the interim,” Chiloane said.
The Star
sipho.jack@inl.co.za