Johannesburg - Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has asked the province’s schools to review their codes of conduct after that of Pretoria Girls High was suspended for “insensitivity”.
Lesufi said the codes could not contradict the constitution.
“The code of conduct at Pretoria Girls High is insensitive to different people and discriminates badly against black pupils as it asks them to straighten their hair,” said Lesufi this morning.
“That is not fair because some pupils have natural(ly curly) hair so we have agreed with the student governing body that it be suspended,” he said.
Lesufi said they had ensured the black pupils would not be victimised and allegations of racism at the school would be investigated.
“We have also started a team that will teach pupils, teachers and parents about the importance of non-racialism, starting with Pretoria Girls High,” he said.
Things boiled over at the school over the weekend when black pupils marched during a spring fair, decrying institutionalised racism and discrimination at the school.
This followed an incident last week when a black girl was hauled to the principal’s office and allegedly threatened with suspension after presenting an assignment highlighting inequality in South Africa.
Pupils were protesting against the hair policy and against being questioned when they were in groups of two or more.
They also claim they were barred from using their home language.
On Monday the girl who presented the assignment told Lesufi she was labelled racist by staff and white pupils.
Her guardian, Lebo Madiba-Lokotwayo, wrote on Facebook that her niece was subjected to racism under the guise of school policy.
“The girl gave a speech in class about employment in South Africa. She compared the politics of employment pre- and post-apartheid and highlighted the ills of apartheid and the role of trade unions,” Madiba-Lokotwayo posted.
“Her speech was interrupted, she was taken to the headmaster’s office and threatened with suspension. When her parents fought the suspension, the school used the hair regulations against the pupil.
“Her mother is black (Zulu), her father is Indian. Doesn’t that just make her proudly South African? She represents everything beautiful about this country. #SheIsHerHair,” Madiba-Lokotwayo said.
Former pupils, University of Pretoria students, activists and Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga were among those who arrived at the school to support the pupils.
An online petition requested that Lesufi and headmistress Karen du Toit ensure the code of conduct did not discriminate against black and Muslim girls and requested disciplinary action be taken against teachers who had implemented racist policies.
In a two-hour meeting with Lesufi on Monday, several schoolgirls, who cannot be named because they are minors, narrated horrendous stories of how they were insulted.
“I was called a monkey by a teacher. It pains me even now because we are treated differently at this school. We are made to feel that we do not belong,” said one girl.
Another pupil said: “A white girl called me the k-word. I didn’t report her; she has called other children the same and nothing was done.”
A pupil told Lesufi her Afro was likened to a bird’s nest by a teacher.
About 10 pupils spoke of treatment they had received because of their hair.
“Teachers find it offensive when we speak to our friends in our mother tongue. We are stopped and told to stop making funny noises,” another said.