- Hoërskool Jan Viljoen in Randfontein, Gauteng, has been mired in controversy after allegations of racism surfaced recently.
- On Sunday, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi held a meeting with parents, and black and white parents disagreed on whether racism existed at the school.
- The South African Human Rights Commission has launched an investigation into the allegations.
While investigations and crisis management strategies have been set up to deal with racism allegations at Hoërskool Jan Viljoen in Randfontein, parents – split along racial lines – are still at odds on whether what has been unfolding at the school for the last week is indeed racism.
READ | Hoërskool Jan Viljoen: SGB appoints independent team to probe racism allegations at school
On Sunday, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi hosted a meeting which laid bare the racial divide between parents at the school and how they viewed alleged racism. Claims of racism surfaced at the school two weeks ago.
“Parents, what happened happened, and we can’t undo it. One thing that I am 100% sure of in my mind is that it wasn’t racial, it was kids. [These are] kids attending a school, and they want to learn and want to become something in life. Ladies and gentlemen, yes, there are a lot of errors, and I don’t deny it, but please bear with me, parents. Don’t make this thing a racial or political thing because this is not what it is. [These are] our kids – mine and yours,” said parent Andre Viljoen, much to the disdain of black parents attending the meeting.
The school has been under heavy scrutiny after several videos of a brawl between black and white pupils went viral on social media, along with voice notes in which defamatory language, including the k-word, were used.
Themba Khumalo*, whose daughter is in Grade 10, was brought to tears while saying that his child had opened up about her experience and why she had not wanted to go to school in recent times.
“After the incident that happened, only then did she start spilling the beans, and as a parent, it still pains me today to hear my daughter telling me that a bottle full of urine was thrown at her while she was having lunch. What kind of a parent could stand for that? Today, here, we are both black and white, simply because of what our children are going through. It has nothing to do with racism, and we do have white boys and girls who are friends with our children. Parents, all that I am saying is that it is up to us to ensure that [what] happened to our parents, grandparents, us, can never happen to our children,” said an emotional Khumalo.
When Lesufi visited the school last Monday, he met with a group of pupils who shared their experiences.
MEC Panyaza Lesufi has visited Jan Viljoen High School to resolve the racial conflict.
Adriaan Diederick accused the MEC of only meeting with black and coloured children, to which parents in the audience responded by asking why children had not been going to school.
“You can’t speak to children, and half of the children are excluded. What would have happened if you interviewed the whites and did not do it to the blacks? I say here today, let’s stop making these racism allegations until the case has been heard. If your kids are scared to go to school, how many white kids were at school this week because they are scared to go to school,” he asked.
Another parent, Victor Padine, said the issues at the school were structural.
“My child came here for induction. When he came back home, he said: ‘I was very disturbed, we were divided into white and blacks during an induction.’ This is structural racism. If the teachers are all white, it is the structure of the school that has permitted this. All I am saying is let’s acknowledge that we have made mistakes and move away from them,” he said.
Responding to statements that the issues at the school were not related to racism, Lesufi said:
We believed in non-racialism before we saw non-racialism because we know the pain of racism, and we don’t want to extend that pain to any other person. You can think that our commitment to non-racialism is a demonstration of stupidity. You can think our commitment to non-racialism is because we are fools. We are not but don’t stretch our patience because that patience is not forever.
Lesufi said the department would be offering support to the school to broaden diversity and transformation.
He also said the school had agreed to move with speed to employ more black, coloured and Indian teachers to improve diversity at the school.
“The school may be having trouble with diversity, but at the same time welcomes everyone in their school. You have taken a decision to truly make your school a South African school, a school that opens its gates for everyone. Hoërskool Jan Viljoen is a functioning school that is going through a transition period,” he said, striking a conciliatory tone.
The South African Human Rights Commission has launched an investigation into the racism claims.
*The parent’s name has been changed to protect his child’s identity and prevent further harm after the incident she experienced.
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