Cape Town - A review of the school code of conduct of Sans Souci Girls’ High School is expected to be concluded soon and Education MEC Debbie Schäfer says she is pleased with the progress made thus far.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) launched an investigation last month following allegations of racism and discrimination at the school and Schäfer received a memorandum of grievances from pupils a few days later.
At the time, pupils told the Daily News's sister paper, the Cape Argus of a demerit book they had received and said the demerits included detention for speaking isiXhosa.
Some pupils also said teachers had assigned them English names instead of their isiXhosa names.
A Grade 9 pupil said she had been forced to cut her hair and conform to the school’s hair policy.
At the beginning of the month, Schäfer announced she wanted to see a new code of conduct for the school by the end of this month
She expressed concerned a complaint, believed to have been made to the Department in 2011, “was seemingly not acknowledged and yielded no change”.
On Monday, Schäfer’s spokeswoman, Jessica Shelver, said the governing body was scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the next step in the review process, and would consult with all stakeholders.
“Our officials are supporting the school to ensure that the new code of conduct meets the requirements of the constitution and the South African Schools Act and that is representative of the school community.
"The MEC is pleased that they are making progress in this regard and hopes to see the finalised version soon. We are also cognisant of the fact that the process should not be rushed and that all stakeholders should be consulted.”
The WCED has also issued a letter to all schools, reminding them their codes of conduct should be in line with the provisions of the constitution.
In the letter, Brian Schreuder, acting provincial head of education, stated when drafting a code of conduct all stakeholders, “parents, teachers and learners, including the Representative Council of Learners", had to be involved.