Johannesburg - Piki Mangope sent his children to Potchefstroom Gimnasium, a top boarding school, to receive a good education. Instead, he says, they have been subjected to racial slurs from fellow pupils.
“They’ve had to develop a thick skin this past year,” said Mangope.
His twin sons Kago and Kagiso Mangope, 14, are Grade 8 pupils at the school and are also the only two black boys who live in the Grade 8 school hostel.
Mangope said the boys were constantly being called “k*****s”, and two previous incidents resulted in Kago quitting the rugby team and other schoolboys calling him names as he would constantly report anyone who would be racist towards him.
An incident last month resulted in a fight between Kagiso and another pupil.
Kagiso had messaged his older brother Lebo shortly before telling him he almost got into four fights because some white pupils were calling him “a k****r” and telling him “he looked like sh*t”. He told Lebo that he had reported the incident but knew that nothing would be done about it.
“The racial slurs were hurled in front of a teacher, and the teacher acted as if nothing happened,” said Lebo.
On Thursday, Kagiso told Lebo he was involved in a fight. The incident occurred while the boys were having breakfast in the hostel. Kagiso said the boy had come up to him and pushed him, calling him a k****r. He looked at the boy and chose to ignore him. The boy then put his hand in Kagiso’s food. When Kagiso decided to throw the food away, the boy followed him, then pushed and slapped him.
“He told me he got so angry because the boy was pushing him around. He retaliated to protect himself,” said Lebo. The fight was eventually stopped by another pupil.
Lebo said the boys had ignored the issue for far too long and the stress of the insults had resulted in their school marks dropping.
He contacted the school that Thursday and was told the issue would be attended to as it was a sensitive and serious matter, and a report-back would be given to the family by Friday. A disciplinary letter was sent to the family on Tuesday and a hearing was scheduled to take place today.
Lebo said he did not understand why the school had delayed the matter as the other boy had allegedly admitted to calling Kagiso a k****r. “What investigation could they be doing if the boy has confessed? Unless they are trying to hide it and buy time.”
Provincial education department spokesman Brian Setswambung said the department would wait for the outcome of the disciplinary hearing.
He said that according to the principal, no racial incidents were reported previously.
“The Department of Education does not by any means condone racial attacks and/or violence at schools. If a pattern of racism emerges, the department will ensure that urgent steps are taken to address the matter.
“Parents are encouraged to liaise more closely with the educators to ease these situations,” he said.
The Star