CAPE TOWN - Northlink College Parow Campus says a ’misunderstanding’ involving a first-year student who was allegedly expelled for wearing sangoma attire to class has been resolved.
Ethile Jim from Nyanga was allegedly expelled for wearing her Sangoma initiation attire to campus earlier this month.
She told the Cape Times that one of the lecturers had told her to "take off her traditional beads or return the school's textbooks".
“Because I come to school wearing my traditional attire due to my calling I decided to go to one of the lecturers to explain so as to not to bring confusion to other learners.
“But the lecturer told me he did not care about my culture and that is when I started to feel embarrassed, as there were other students listening when he said this.
“Later that day after school I was called into the lecturer room, and the other lecturer said I should take off my traditional beads or bring back the school’s textbooks.
“I decided to go back home because I could not take off my traditional beading because they help me communicate with my ancestors,” she said.
The campus manager said the matter was a “misunderstanding” and was now resolved.
“The matter has been resolved. Feedback was given to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), as the complaint came via the DHET,” he said.
EFF Western chairperson Melikhaya Xego, who intervened to ensure Jim was able to get back to class, said this was a “distasteful act of insensitivity” by the concerned lecturers.
“After the intervention the student is back in class and the college will subject her to formal emotional support since this traumatic experience. The college management apologised to the student and her family for the unwarranted insensitive treatment she received,” Xego said.
“What frustrated the student was the kind of humiliation she encountered in front of other students by both lecturers who demanded that she take her attire off when she went on to enquire about the process.”
“We must thank the campus manager for taking full responsibility of this act of unfair discrimination and vowed to provide the necessary support to her and other learners. That’s the kind of leadership our institutions need to understand diversity in public institutions.”
He said they were looking forward to the institution holding the perpetrators accountable.
“Most of all we are glad to know that the learner will go back to class and commence with her studies,” he said.
Cape Times