Johannesburg - Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi rolled up his sleeves on Friday, determined to resolve two weeks of racial strife between black and coloured parents at the Roodepoort Primary School.
Lesufi’s intervention compelled parents to “hug and make up” for the sake of their children.
Now pupils and teachers at the Davidsonville school are expected to resume lessons on Monday with a different interim principal.
At a meeting, closed to frustrated parents congregated outside the school gates, a persistent Lesufi sat down at a table with the governing body, affected parents and teachers in an attempt to end the impasse.
Tensions were palpable as the MEC called for transparency and urged individuals to speak up about issues they were unhappy with. Twice he could be heard emphasising that he would not leave until matters had been resolved.
“We can go on until we are grey. We will have a resolution. That I can assure you,” he said.
Lesufi warned parents that poverty was the common enemy they had to fight, not each other. He said his role was to uphold the rights of children to education.
“It’s the interests of children that dictate to me what is wrong and what is right.”
The MEC’s arrival at the school came after police were called in to maintain order on Friday morning and prevent parents from clashing.
Black parents rushed to the school demanding the removal of a coloured interim principal who had been reinstated.
The principal, identified only as a Mr Phillips, had been expected to return to the post after the disputed principal, Nomathemba Molefe, was chased out of the school on Thursday.
Coloured parents had accused Molefe of financial mismanagement and not fully implementing Afrikaans, despite the school being in a predominantly coloured area.
Other issues, presented in a report to Lesufi, include the debacle around the appointment of two deputy principals.
Molefe and two deputy principals have been instructed to report directly to the district office until Tuesday when the matter is expected to be resolved.
In addition an independent forensics probe into the mismanagement of finances at the school would be carried out.
No sooner had Lesufi called for the warring parties to shake hands outside the school gate, a different scenario played itself out. African and coloured parents stood opposite each other making taunting comments and gestures.
This continued as Lesufi addressed them and when told another interim principal would be appointed, the African parents clapped and the coloured parents remained silent.
However, afterwards some of the coloured parents said they were satisfied with the outcome.
Parent Ronelle Hendrik said: “I’m happy that the children can go back to school now.”
Another parent, Adrian Nobel, said while he was happy with the decisions made, he was dismayed that the MEC had not apologised and acknowledged this was not a racial issue.
The school governing body’s secretary, Petrus Lehaiwa, said he was not convinced that peace would be maintained.
“It’s always been an issue of race. Coloured parents against black parents.”
But he added that it needed to be resolved because the African children would continue to attend the school. “No one should be ostracised for the colour of their skin.”
Department of education spokesman Phumla Sekhonyane said the increase in racism at schools would be tackled at a school summit later this year. She said this would included an inquiry into racism at schools and how to bring about transformation.
Saturday Star